Shillong, May 22: The collapse of the huge dome at the centre of the roof of under-construction new Meghalaya Assembly building at Mawdiangdiang in the wee hours of Sunday morning has led many to question the current infrastructure projects under development in the State.

Recently, a section of the Mawlai by-pass road had caved in following heavy rain and the top layer washed off, exposing the thin layer of tarmac applied, leading to the weak road construction. Similarly, leakage of rainwater from the ceiling and development of cracks on the walls of the newly constructed ISBT at Mawiong has also drawn a lot of flak.

Sunday’s collapse of the dome is the third successive incident of poor quality of work being carried out in government projects, all exposed after spells of heavy rain.

The Executive Engineer of the PWD (Building), Ransom Sutnga said the dome design was too heavy for the structure which subsequently led to this incident. “After analysing the incident, I feel it is because of the design…the weight of the dome design is so heavy, subsequently leading to the happening of this incident,” Sutnga said.

Sutnga further informed that it will take two weeks to clear the debris even as he added that the timeline for completion of the project has been set back by 8-9 months.

Asked, Sutnga said that the estimated cost of the loss in property will be based on the security deposit of the Tender Agreement. “If there is any fault in construction, it can be realised from the bill of the contractor,” he said.

The actual height of the dome from the ground floor is about 65 meter; and the weight of the dome is 70 tonnes.

The Assembly building is being constructed at a cost of Rs. 127 Crore under the initiative of the PWD department and was expected to complete before the 2023 Election.