Amid a growing controversy triggered by viral videos allegedly exposing substandard work on the Nongpoh–Umden–Sunapur road, Nongpoh legislator Mayralborn Syiem on Wednesday voiced strong displeasure over attempts to physically scrape and damage the freshly laid surface, cautioning that such acts amount to destruction of public property and are unacceptable, even while concerns over construction quality are being examined. The controversy erupted after social media clips showed portions of the blacktopped road being easily scraped off by hand, raising serious questions about the quality of materials used and the manner in which the work was executed, prompting political reactions, public scrutiny and renewed debate over accountability in infrastructure projects.
Warning against what he termed as irresponsible actions, Syiem said, “This road is a public property, no one has any right to go and destroy it like that. The public money is being used, it’s a public property, it is a public road. We have no right to interfere like that. My request to all the citizens to see properly, to verify properly if anything is there give in writing, go and talk to the officer, come to me as MLA, go and talk to the contractor, that is the civilized way of doing things. It is very important that we should not destroy public property which has been made but we should have a constructive mind to work together for the benefits of every one.”
The issue came to the fore after activist and Mawlong village resident Bindas Syiem, who had earlier staged a hunger strike at the Additional Secretariat demanding blacktopping of the Nongpoh–Umden–Sunapur road, on Saturday expressed deep anguish over alleged irregularities in the execution of the work. Her concern followed the circulation of videos on social media purportedly showing poor-quality construction along the stretch. Accompanied by supporters, she visited affected sections of the road, particularly in the Plasha village area, where the inspection reportedly revealed glaring lapses, with freshly laid blacktop appearing so weak that it could be scraped off by hand.
Addressing the larger picture, the Nongpoh legislator said he was satisfied with the overall progress of the project, noting that the contractor had initiated work at the right time and continued without a single day’s interruption since commencement. “I appreciate on record the contractor who has initiated the work at a right time. He didn’t stop a single day since the start of the work. The whole summer the work was on. It has been carried out smoothly. In a kind of a big project like this, out of 100 percent, may be a small fraction of percent of the work, maybe somewhere deficiency are there, we cannot rule out such kinds of incidents.”
Syiem underlined that in large-scale infrastructure projects, minor deficiencies are sometimes inevitable and usually form only a small fraction of the total work. He said concerned companies have already been instructed to execute the work properly and report to the department, adding that occasional mistakes at certain locations can occur in any major project. Drawing parallels with other highway works, he said, “As in Jorabat-Umiam four lane work was on, I have witnessed as a resident of that area, there are various incidents like that but as a civilized citizen we just don’t go and flash in newspaper or youtube channel and all, we just tell the concern department, concern companies to do it properly. Similarly with this case also, if you take the overall construction of this road, it is till now the work is satisfactory, at the same time here and there may be small mistake, I am not ruling out this in this scale of project.”
Acknowledging that rectification is required in a few stretches, Syiem maintained that since the project is still ongoing, shortcomings can and will be addressed. He said verification is underway and corrective measures will be taken wherever necessary. “We remember a small fraction of percent deficiency that are there, we have the courage to flash every where and tarnish the image of the department, tarnish the image of the contractor, and I am telling you we will verify, I understand there are mistakes here and there, but it has to be rectified. This is an ongoing process, the work is on now. It is not that the work is completed, the work is on and they are ready to rectify, to correct everything I understand the issue has come up, during that time also I feel pity for the contractor, who have really work very hard so that the project is completed before time.”
Expressing personal anguish, the legislator said it was painful to see attempts to malign officials, contractors and even himself. “As a legislator and as a MLA who has been initiating right from the beginning it’s painful sometimes that with due respect to few sections of people just want to create situations like this to tarnish the image of officers, tarnish the image of contractor and at the same time may be politics also involved to tarnish my image also.”
Reiterating his stand, Syiem asserted that while minor deficiencies can be rectified in due course, the Nongpoh–Umden–Sunapur road remains a public asset, and no individual has the right to damage or destroy public property under any circumstances.
Nongpoh MLA Warns Against Damage to Public Road Amid Quality Row Over Umden–Sunapur Project
