ITANAGAR, Aug 16 (PTI): The Arunachal Pradesh government
assured the people of three villages in West Siang district, who
threatened to boycott the 2024 elections, that a bridge will be
constructed over the Hijum river by March next year.
About 400 people of three villages — Rime Moko, Pidi Rime and
Todi Rime — threatened to boycott the elections, if the
government fails to construct a permanent bridge over the
river.
There is a 20-metre-long makeshift bridge over the river that
locals made to connect the two sides but it usually goes below
the water during the monsoon as the level of Hijum, a tributary
of Pisam, rises.
Government spokesperson Nyamar Karbak met a team of the
Rime Welfare Society (RWS), which has been demanding the
bridge, and assured it that the government would sanction
funds for the construction of an all-weather road with a bridge
over the river.
Karbak, who is also the MLA of Liromoba constituency in the
district, said the state government has already given necessary
instructions to departments concerned to expedite the works,
including survey, estimate and preparation of a detailed project
report (DPR).
”The state government has assured to complete the
construction of the road and bridge over Hijum river before
March next year,” RWS general secretary Pokpe Rime said.
A team of the rural works department (RWD) surveyed the site
on August 10 for the construction of the bridge, he said.
An estimate prepared by the RWD in Aalo, the headquarters of
West Siang district, has already been submitted to the chief
engineer (eastern zone), he added.
”We have not called off our threat to boycott the polls. If the
government is serious and fulfill our demand, we will certainly
call it off,” Rime said.
The villages are in the Aalo West assembly constituency, which
is represented by Industries Minister Tumke Bagra, and the
Arunachal West Lok Sabha constituency that is represented by
Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju.
