Odisha's Development Commissioner U N Behera today said construction work of the Gurupriya bridge in the Maoist-affected Malkangiri district will be completed by the end of 2016.
Behera, who was recently appointed as the special officer for overall development of the Maoist-hit district, said this after a visit to the place close to the Balimela reservoir.
The bridge at Gurupriya would provide connectivity to the area housing 151 villages.
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The Development Commissioner accompanied by Public Works and Water Resources department secretaries discussed the security aspect with top BSF personnel stationed at the area to provide security to the persons engaged in the construction work.
In their bid to foil the state government's efforts to construct a bridge at Gurupriya, the ultras on August 26 gunned down three security personnel and a civilian.
Though work of the bridge was stalled for three days, it had resumed with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announcing that the government would go on constructing the bridge under any circumstance and the work started amid tight vigil of BSF jawans.
Behera also directed the construction company to expedite its work without any fear and meet the deadline.
The foundation stone for a bridge at Gurupriya was laid way back in 1982 by the then chief minister J B Patnaik and again by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in 2000.
Initially, the construction work was assigned to the Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation (OBCC).
