By Lamphrang Nongspung
SHILLONG: The Centrally-sponsored 20-km Wahkaji-Mawthabah road in West Khasi Hills has proved to be a blessing in disguise for the thousands of people residing in and around the area.
But the underlying truth is that if the areas had not been rich in uranium deposits then the Centre would not have shown its generosity by allocating funds for construction of this road.
On its part, the State, despite attaining 39 years of statehood, has not been able to improve road connectivity in the most parts of the State. And since the Government has been a failure in providing good roads even within the city limits, it would be too much to expect that the Government would show any concern about constructing a road in a far off place like Wahkaji.
It is now an open secret that the Wahkaji-Mawthabah road has been constructed with the primary intention of facilitating uranium mining in the area.
But whether uranium mining takes place or not is a different issue altogether for the residents of the area.
The only thing that matters to them is that they have now been connected to the rest of the State by a proper road which had been denied to them for a very long time.
A resident of Mawthabah, P Lyngdoh Langrin, said this road has proved to be a real blessing for the people of the whole area.
“Before this road was constructed, we had to carry the goods on our back and walk four to five hours to reach our villages. We had motorable road only upto Wahkaji,” Lyngdoh said while speaking to The Shillong Times on Sunday.
“Earlier when any person was sick then their relatives had to carry them on their back. There have been many occasions when the patients died on the way before reaching the nearest hospital, Langrin added.
“But now these are things of the past. We have vehicles plying right up to our doorsteps. We no longer have to carry our goods on our back and walk for hours,” the villager said, while adding that nowadays patients can be admitted at the hospital at the appropriate time.
Meanwhile, there are even bigger reasons for the villagers of the area to celebrate. Sources have informed that the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) has sanctioned another Rs 20.31 crore for the black-topping of the Wahkaji-Mawthabah road.
“In the second phase, a total amount of Rs 20.31 crore has been sanctioned by the UCIL for black-topping of the road. Out of this total amount, the UCIL has already released an amount of Rs 1.70 crore as the first instalment,” KHADC project engineer F Syiem informed.
He said that the black-topping of the road would start within the coming winter. “The deadline to complete the project is 2013,” he added.
Once the black-topping work is completed, local residents believe the road would bring in greater benefits to the people of Wahkaji-Mawthabah and its adjoining areas. The villagers have, therefore, more reasons to thank the Centre for sanctioning the road.
Other villages of the State are not so fortunate. They do not have uranium deposits.