Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal took stock of the progress of the ongoing repairs of the old Saraighat bridge over the Brahmaputra here on Monday.

The chief minister also directed the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) authorities to complete the maintenance within June 20 instead of June 30 fixed earlier by the railway.

On Saturday, Kamrup deputy commissioner Kamal Kumar Baishya took up the matter with the NFR authorities that the pace of repairs was too slow.

He said the railway had appointed only 13 workers to repair such a long bridge earlier but now they have appointed around 80 workers.

The bridge was closed in March for 90 days (three months) to carry out “massive” repairs.

“The Saraighat bridge is a lifeline in terms of connectivity for the people of north and south banks. It is very important to complete the repairs at the earliest to ensure hassle-free traffic movement for the people of both banks of the river,” Sonowal told the railway authorities present at the site.

The chief minister also asked the railway to engage manpower in three shifts and complete casting of the bridge within May 15. NFR general manager Sanjive Roy said, “It is for the first time a major repair of this scale has been taken up since the time of dedication of the bridge to the service of the people in 1963. I assured the chief minister that we will complete the repairs within June 20 as directed by him.”

The railway personnel also briefed the chief minister about the project at the work site.

Chief minister’s media adviser Hrishikesh Goswami accompanied Sonowal during the visit.