Villagers Blame Shoddy Work as Sarjamda Pond Wall Crumbles
Key Points:
- RCC guardwall built with MLA funds collapses after first heavy rain
- Villagers accuse contractor, officials of using substandard material
- Residents demand high-level probe into construction irregularities
JAMSHEDPUR – A guardwall under construction with legislator funds collapsed within days of the first monsoon rain in the Jugsalai assembly constituency.
The structure was being built at the Bada Sarjamda pond in North Sarjamda. However, it could not withstand the very first spell of sustained rainfall.
A large portion of the reinforced concrete wall gave way after continuous rain. Meanwhile, a road being built along the pond’s embankment by a separate department was also damaged in the process.
Local residents expressed strong anger following the incident. They alleged serious irregularities in the construction work, besides accusing officials and the contractor of colluding to use inferior material.
Villagers said the guardwall, roughly 230 feet long, was being built at a cost of nearly ₹13 lakh from the legislator’s fund. The wall was meant to check soil erosion along the pond’s banks.
At the same time, a road was being laid on the embankment by another department. However, neither project had been completed when two days of rain caused the wall to crumble.
A significant stretch of the road was also damaged as soil beneath it washed away. As a result, movement along the route was disrupted for local residents.
Residents further said no information board detailing the project had been installed at the site. Consequently, it remained unclear which department was responsible for the road work.
Villagers claimed they had repeatedly raised concerns about construction quality, but officials and the contractor ignored their complaints. They alleged that substandard iron rods and other materials, not meeting prescribed standards, were used in the wall.
“The entire structure came down because proper material was never used,” a local resident said, describing the aftermath of the collapse.
In addition, residents pointed out that a culvert proposed for draining water from the pond had not been constructed. The resulting pressure of accumulated rainwater, they said, damaged both the wall and the road.
Waris Mahto, the pond’s owner, said he had recently released fish worth about ₹50,000 into the water body. He added that the collapse of the guardwall had raised fears the fish could now escape.
Mahto further alleged that departmental engineers never visited the site for inspection during the construction period.
Villagers have urged the Deputy Commissioner to order a technical and high-level inquiry into the matter. They have also demanded strict action against the contractor and officials found responsible, along with punishment for those accountable for the wastage of public funds.
Construction quality concerns have surfaced elsewhere in Jamshedpur in the past as well, including a case where a worker fell from an under-construction building in Mango. Similarly, residents had earlier flagged illegal construction activity near a graveyard in Sakchi.
On the other hand, infrastructure work in the area has continued on other fronts, with the Jugsalai railway under-bridge project having commenced separately. Disputes over contractor accountability have also arisen in other contexts, such as when employees protested against a Tata Steel contractor over unpaid dues.
Besides construction issues, Jugsalai residents have previously mobilized over civic matters, including a movement where residents united against a holding tax hike.
