Odisha writes to Centre for expediting work on Motu Bridge

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Oct 22:

State government has written to the Union government for speeding up construction of bridge on Sileru river near Motu connecting Ranchi-Vijayawada corridor or hand over the work to Odisha.

Under the Left Wing Extremism affected area programme, Andra Pradesh government is undertaking the building of 250 meter long bridge at an estimated cost of Rs 19 crore. The construction work on the bridge is yet to begin.

The river bridge near Motu, was approved by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in 2013 and the work order was given to then Andhra Pradesh government.

Concerned over the delay, Odisha government has written to the Centre, calling for handover of the project to Odisha. In this regard, chief secretary Gokul Chandra Pati has written to the Union Road secretary. He has said in the letter that if Odisha is given responsibility of the project they will take all possible steps to complete the project as soon as possible.

“The chief secretary has also written to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart to ensure completion of the bridge. If Odisha is given the responsibility, then we can also undertake the construction,” informed Public Works department secretary Nalinikant Pradhan.

The road from Malkangiri to Motu has already been improved and the bridge will provide complete inter-state connectivity to both Telangana and Chhattisgarh, helping in maintenance of law and order in the Maoist-affected region.