Tribal Welfare Minister and Krishnapur MLA Bikash Debbarma on Sunday ordered a temporary halt to side-wall casting work on a major road project after finding that the engineer responsible for supervising the construction was absent from the site.

Debbarma was passing through the Krishnapur area when he stopped to inspect the ongoing road construction connecting Teliamura with North Maharani GM Road via the National Highway. He reviewed the progress of the project and closely examined the work being carried out at the site.

The road project, being implemented at an estimated cost of around Rs 34 crore, was undergoing side-wall casting when the minister found that the designated engineer was not present. Expressing dissatisfaction, Debbarma questioned the absence of the supervising engineer during such an important stage of construction.

He directed the executing agency to immediately stop the side-wall casting work and resume it only after the concerned engineer arrived at the site.

The minister stressed that construction undertaken with public money must strictly adhere to prescribed technical and quality standards. He said that critical activities, particularly concrete casting, require proper supervision to ensure the durability and safety of the infrastructure.

Debbarma warned that negligence or poor-quality construction could create serious problems for the public in the future. He made it clear that there would be no compromise with the quality of government-funded infrastructure projects.

He also instructed the executing agency to maintain the required standards throughout the project and ensure that all technical procedures are followed at every important stage of construction.

Several infrastructure development works, including the road and side-wall construction, are currently underway in the area.

During the inspection, the minister was accompanied by Khowai Zilla Parishad member Ranjit Sarkar, Krishnapur Mandal vice-president Gopal Das, secretary Madanmohan Saha and BJP Khowai district committee secretary Nirmal Sarkar.

The minister’s intervention at the construction site has highlighted the administration’s focus on quality control and proper utilisation of public funds in infrastructure development.