Maoists stop construction of road in Gumla district

GUMLA: Construction of the road on Rukki valley in Maoist-affected Ghaghra block of the district has become problem with the rebels stopping work over two months ago. This, despite the fact that the project has the backing of 25 villages located in the area.
Residents of this hinterland face a lot of difficulty in absence of a proper road. At most times, people have to get down from vehicles and walk for about two km to reach their destination.During the rainy season patients suffer the most while going to hospital for treatment.Keeping people's demand in view, the administration sanctioned a two-km-long concrete road under Integrated Action Plan (IAP). When work for laying the road began, the rebels issued a dictate to stop work.
Soon residents of several villages of the area held a meeting and decided to appeal to the Maoists to allow construction work, but to no avail so far.
Executive engineer (EE) of rural works department Niranjan Kumar indicated that the work will start very soon. "Security for our engineer who will oversee the construction is a matter of concern," he added.