Load restrictions will be imposed at Umiam dam after the retrofitting and rehabilitation work of the Umiam dam and bridge is completed.
Chairman and Managing Director of Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) Sanjay Goyal today assured that load restrictions on the bridge will be made once they have completed the consultation with IIT Guwahati.
Goyal pointed out that this rehabilitation work is done to sustain the dam at the level at which it is so that no more damage happens to the structure from now onwards.
“However, this doesn’t mean that we will open the bridge for unlimited load restrictions. Load restrictions will be there. We are in consultation with IIT Guwahati and we will come out with the load restriction notifications after the rehabilitation work is done. We will ensure that these restrictions are adhered to,” Goyal said.
He also informed that the MeECL has set up CCTV cameras so that heavily loaded vehicles do not pass through the dam.
“This is a public infrastructure and the purpose is to provide connectivity and we have to ensure that we do not do anything which might further damage the bridge,” Goyal said.
According to him, the retrofitting and rehabilitation work of Umiam dam and the bridge is likely to be completed by the end of July.
“IIT Guwahati is also evaluating if there is a need to do another retrofitting work beneath the bridge just to ensure they get more life span of the bridge. This work will not impact the movement of traffic,” Goyal informed.
“IIT Guwahati team is evaluating it. This is a slightly different kind of work which is a specialised work but we should be able to come up with the details in the days to come,” he added.
He also said that the rehabilitation of Umiam dam is a general project which is done under DRIP project at an estimated cost of Rs 20-25 crore.
