SHILLONG, May 25: The Minister incharge of Transport and PWD(Building) Dasakhiatbha Lamare said the defects found leading to cracks and water leakage in the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) are very minor in nature and will see if enquiry is needed at all.
The Minister stated this today the 25th of May,2022 after an on-site inspection of the ISBT at Mawlai Mawïong, after heavy rain revealed shoddy construction of the ISBT wherein cracks and water leakage began to appear.
Speaking with media persons, Dasakhiatbha Lamare said that he is sad that other representatives had inspected the site earlier than him, when he as Minister incharge of the department of Transport and PWD (Buildings) should have been the first.
He said that any project work carried out should be cent percent perfect and should benefit the public. Lamare also claimed that the building was completed in 2017-2018 and after the building was completed, other necessary work also crept which needed further attention.
On being queried about his findings after the inspection, he said that the defects found are minor in nature and the engineers will have to repair the parts from where water is leaking.
He informed that the department tasked with the implementation of this project is the PWD(Roads) and not PWD(Buildings).
Even though the Minister had said that an enquiry will be conducted, but today he changed his mind in a matter of a few hours in which he stated that currently an enquiry is not required.
He said that in the construction of any building, in the first try it is never perfect and never 100 out of 100.
The Minister also said that there should be no fear in using the ISBT because it is safe to use and the ISBT will continue to be operational because there is no reason to stop it as the defect is a very minor one.
On being queried further on the reasons leading to water leaking into the ISBT, Lamare said that water had collected and stagnated on the roof of the ISBT and the water that had leaked is not from the cracks but stagnated water flowing from the sides.
He also clarified that the parts in which thermocol and rubber have been inserted are a construction procedure carried out especially in that manner as per the design to avoid collisions.
With regards to the repair of the ISBT roof without waiting for an enquiry, Lamare said that it is important to carry out the repair sooner and cannot wait till after an enquiry committee is constituted.
On being queried again about an enquiry committee because the construction was allegedly carried out by the Dhar company, the Minister added that if it is necessary an enquiry will be conducted, but if found to be unnecessary then it will not be conducted because it will only lead to an unnecessary long process when the defect is a very minor one.
On the allegation that taxis are taking advantage of the passengers in the ISBT while charging fares, the Minister incharge of the department of Transport said that he will look into this matter again as other officers incharge of that aspect are not present with him.
