The making of Sadarghat bridge - Standing tall against the flow

Yes, the new Sadarghat bridge over river Barak has been officially inaugurated today morning (March 2). Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal along with the member of parliament, Silchar, Sushmita Dev and other senior political leaders did the honour in the ceremonious occasion. The bridge looks lovely at night with blue lights on and the aerial shots during the day show how huge the architecture is. Beating the waves of the river the bridge stands tall against the flow and that is because of the hundreds of labourers’ hard word and brilliant engineering.

Construction company D2S infrastructures bagged the contract of this Rs 67 crore project after responding to Government’s invitation to tender in 2014. On their way came, disputed lands, cases by people residing since ages around and many other complications. Many residents went to the court and filed cases as the alignment of the bridge meant disrupting their lives, “So the work actually started in 2016,” says chief engineer of D2S Infrastructures, Yoginder Singh.

The legal issues and land disputes were not the only challenges that the engineers and labourers were forced on. Throughout the summers, the water level of Barak flowed over the danger level, “Because of the rain our crane swept away. You would be surprised to know that after all the hardship, we managed to stand by our deadline, and actually completed it a month ahead.”

Finished before the deadline but what about the longevity? The engineers of D2S infrastructure believe that they have done a good job, “We have planned it to work smoothly for 100 years. But taking into consideration the wear and tear caused due to natural calamities, 70 years is a good number,” says Singh. He quickly adds a caveat, “But I must also add that the yearly maintenance is important for a good run of any construction.”

Singh cites the example of the old bridge and says lack of proper maintenance is the main reason why it is in such a bad condition, “Also, it was constructed following an old design, he opines. Adding, “From what I have heard, the bridge will be closed for a certain period of time so that it can be adequately renovated.”

The discussion caught the attention of DD Sharma, the chairman of D2S Infrastructures, the company that helmed the entire construction project. Sharing his observation with us, Sharma states, “Maintenance for a concrete bridge is a serious problem. People assume that every construction is permanent. While it is a highly technical matter there are two aspects on which a construction survives- concept and codes.”

The chairman assures, “We have taken all possible measures to evade any conceptual error. And the bridge has been built on the latest IRC 112(Indian Roads Congress). We have assured that this bridge serves its intended purpose and causes no trouble. But issues arise because of overloading or huge earthquakes, natural calamities which are completely unforeseen.”

Stating that the team had a three-tier consultant to take care of the construction, Sharma added, “This is public money. We cannot take it lightly. The old Sadarghat bridge is an example. It is already showing signs of distress. I am not saying the work was not up to the standard but there were concept errors. It is not a joke to build a bridge on a river like Barak.”

Engineer Singh further concluded the conversation stating, “The cases that I mentioned earlier, it would have happened anywhere in the country. The people of Barak Valley were very cooperative and overall, we had a great experience of working in this region.”

It is worth mentioning here that it is because of Rajarshi Sinha, Barak Bulletin got access to D2S infrastructure and the archival moments shared in the story.