AGARTALA: What should have been a completed repair job turned into a fresh crisis at the North Belonia Anganwadi Centre located in South Tripura District under Bharat Chandra Nagar Block earlier this week as the newly fitted ceiling gave way and collapsed to the floor, just 13 days after renovations were finished under a village development project.
According to reports, the incident took place on Wednesday, April 22, when the centre was shut for Garia Puja. Reportedly, neither the children nor the centre’s workers were present at the time, averting what could have been a serious accident. However, residents and parents have been asking who would have taken responsibility had the centre been open and young children present when the ceiling came down.
It is learned that the renovation work at the centre, which falls under Sukanta Nagar Gram Panchayat in Belonia Assembly Constituency, was taken up roughly a month ago under a village development scheme.
The implementing officer for the project was Binoy Banik, a junior engineer attached to Bharat Chandra Nagar Block. As part of the renovation, a plastic sheet false ceiling was installed in the centre. Barely half the structure allegedly held before the entire section collapsed to the floor within 13 days of completion.
Meanwhile, when local media representatives reached the spot to report on the incident, the situation turned heated. Two elected members of Sukanta Nagar Gram Panchayat identified as Srikanta Sen and Asish Patari, reportedly picked an argument with journalists and attempted to suppress coverage of the incident.
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According to reports, the panchayt members allegedly issued threats to the media personnel who had gone to document the collapse.
Locals claimed that this is not the first time allegations of substandard work have been levelled against the same junior engineer. Earlier, complaints of poor quality construction were raised over a double-room computer building built at the Sukanta Nagar Gram Panchayat office, where inferior grade materials were used. Those complaints reportedly reached the Bharat Chandra Nagar Block Development Officer and the Panchayat Samiti chairman, though no significant action followed.
Local residents allege that the pattern of substandard construction has continued unchecked, with ruling party functionaries at various levels allegedly involved directly or indirectly. “The state government’s reputation is being damaged because of this,” local intellectuals said.
Parents and area residents have demanded strict action against those responsible and called for quality checks on all ongoing and completed government-funded construction work in the area.