| Staff Reporter |
ITANAGAR, Mar 3: The All Arunachal Pradesh Youth Organisation (AAPYO) has demanded that Chief Minister Pema Khandu step down on moral grounds, alleging inaction over reported large-scale irregularities in the NH-415 Package B and C projects.
Addressing a press conference here, AAPYO president Kipa Kanam claimed that the construction agency used defective TMT bars and substandard cement in the project, endangering public safety. According to the organisation, 18 piers of the under-construction highway were built using defective materials.
He further alleged that during a hammer test conducted by the capital district administration on 12 flyover pillars, two were found to be weak, while tests on six pillars are yet to be conducted.
“AAPYO representatives met the Home Minister thrice, and he assured us that the matter would be taken up with the Chief Minister. However, no action has been taken so far,” Kanam claimed.
The organisation has demanded immediate dismantling of all weak and defective piers and 13 girders, along with suspension of officials allegedly involved in the irregularities. It warned of launching a ‘March to New Delhi’ to meet the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways if its demands are not addressed at the earliest.