Kerala - Pathanamthitta   

Repair works: TDB invites tenders at eleventh hour

By Our Staff Reporter

PATHANAMTHITTA, OCT. 27. With 19 days left for the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrim season, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has invited tenders for 58 major repair works at Sabarimala, estimated to cost a total of Rs. 88.5 lakhs, as part of its Sabarimala Development Project (SDP).

The `eleventh-hour' TDB tender proceedings is for the repair and maintenance of the sewage treatment plant at Cheriyanavattom, the incinerators at Pampa and Sannidhanam, the repair and maintenance of the existing sewage and drinking water supply lines, latrine complexes, construction of a new latrine complex attached to the police barracks at Pampa, etc.

`Quick' processing

The tender notice that appeared in a regional daily on Tuesday says that the sale of the tender documents will be made at the TDB Office at Chengannur till 1 p.m. on November 1 and the tender documents will be received at the office till 2.30 p.m. the same day. The opening of the tender will be made after two hours at 3.30 p.m., raising many an eyebrow at the TDB `skill' in the `quick' processing of the tender documents for 58 different works.

The TDB authorities had `informed' the district authority as well as the Government at various meetings held in the past few weeks that they had completed the tender procedures for various repair and maintenance works at Sabarimala in advance and the works would be over by the first week of November.

`Gameplan'

The nature of work involved in a majority of the 58 items tendered by the TDB suggests that it is humanly impossible to complete the task as per the desired standard in such a short span of time, according to experts.

There were also allegations that the `belated' tender proceedings were part of the `gameplan' of certain TDB officials so as to ensure the awarding of various works at Sabarimala to their `nominees'.

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Repair works: TDB invites tenders at eleventh hour

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