Assam boat mishap: MLA Bimal Bora faces protest in Majuli; Cong seeks update on bridge
“The Assam government is responsible for the incident because they haven’t done anything to build the bridge they promised during their election campaign. Sarbananda Sonowal is the MLA from Majuli but even during his tenure as the chief minister, no work was done on the sanctioned bridge. We want the government to start working on the bridge immediately,” said a protestor.
GUWAHATI:
Assam Power Minister Bimal Bora faced a massive protest from the residents of Majuli when he visited the river island on Thursday to take stock of the situation following the tragic boat mishap on Brahmaputra River near Nimatighat in Jorhat district on Wednesday. Residents tried to block his vehicle and raised slogans against the minister and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government blaming them for the tragedy.
“The Assam government is responsible for the incident because they haven’t done anything to build the bridge they promised during their election campaign. Sarbananda Sonowal is the MLA from Majuli but even during his tenure as the chief minister, no work was done on the sanctioned bridge. We want the government to start working on the bridge immediately,” said a protestor.
Meanwhile, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has slammed the government stating that the BJP has not learnt from similar tragedies in the past. The Opposition also questioned the government on the progress of the bridge between Majuli to Jorhat, whose foundation stone was laid in 2016, but has not seen the day of light till date.
“This shows that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is out to hoodwink the people of Assam with an eye on the upcoming Assembly Elections. I have never seen a central government that goes on a foundation stone-laying spree without preparing the detailed project reports. The BJP-led state government has done enough of Bhumi Pujans and Namani Brahmaputras. It’s time for the party and the government to do some real work," said Bhupen Kumar Borah, addressing the press on Thursday. Bora also sought an update on the proposed Bridge, for which an amount of 925.47 crore has already been sanctioned.
Expressing condolences to those who have lost their near and dear ones in the tragic accident, APCC has demanded an ex-gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh to the families of the deceased.
The Committee has also sought a statement on the status of the RORO Ferry which has not been operational till date.
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