BJP state secy threatens indefinite hunger strike if road repair embezzlement complaint remains ignored

GANGTOK, 04 May: The Bharatiya Janta Party, Sikkim state secretary, Laten Tshering Sherpa, has threatened to sit on an indefinite hunger strike in Kaluk Bazaar, if the concerned department and authorities will not take the serious note of the carelessness in the implementation of two road projects in West Sikkim.
He alleged that Rs 11.11 crore strengthening the Soreng-Kaluk road and Rs 25 lakh repairing and carpeting of Kaluk-Rinchenpong road were not properly done and pointed out tht the roads were in pathetic conditions.
He has alleged that both the works were completed only in official files and no work undertaken on ground.
Mr Sherpa has issued a 10-day ultimatum to the Road and Bridges Department and the District Collector [West] to take up the matter seriously. Then, he announced, he will give 15 days time to the department to work on the matter and in case it did not, he will sit on an indefinite hunger strike at Kaluk Bazaar.

As per information gathered through RTI, Mr Sherpa has found out that strengthening the existing Soreng-Kaluk Road was started on 17 May 2009 and completed on paper on 31 March this year.
Similarly, neither carpeting nor proper repairing has been done the Kaluk-Rinchenpong stretch of around 3 kilometers, which was started on 23 January 2008 and claimed to have been completed on 23 January in same year.
Mr Sherpa informed that as the information received through the RTI, he learnt that 81 drums of coal tar at the cost of Rs 4,830 per drum were used in the carpeting works.
At present these roads are in complete disrepair.
Likewise, the BJP state vice-president, GM Thulung, has alleged corruption and carelessness in the consumption of Rs 13.50 lakh on jhora training works in Sumbok under Geyzing-Bermiok constituency in West Sikkim under MGNREGA.
He informed that on the peoples’ complaint a BJP team visited the spot and found that no concrete work was done. He alleged that out of 432 bags of cement, just 50 bags were used in the work.
It was informed that by taking up the matter, the team had also filed an FIR at Kaluk Police Station on 29 December last year and then met with the DC [West] on 09 February this year and the DC had given them the date of 24 March this year to visit the site but postponed.
Mr Thulung demanded that the concerned authority complete the MGNREGA work within the 100 days programme announced by the Chief Minister recently and not just receive awards by showing works of MGNREGA only in files.