From Our Correspondent
JOWAI: The Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) in Jaintia Hills have expressed anger over the failure of the PWD (Roads) to complete the construction of the Kurliya bridge which has been pending for several years now.
The FKJGP have demanded immediate completion of the bridge so that the woes of the commuters can be solved.
The construction of the bridge was initiated in 2005 with an aim to connect the villages under the disputed Block I area with the rest of Jaintia Hills. However, the construction of the bridge remains incomplete even after seven years.
The project is Centrally-sponsored under the Inter-State Connectivity Schemes implemented by the PWD (Roads), Jowai North Division, Jowai.
The bridge was sanctioned at an amount of Rs 428.65 lakh and the construction work was allotted to a contractor, BN Sharma, and on his expiry, his son took over the construction work.
For the last few years, Jaintia Hills-based NGOs and traditional heads have submitted several memorandums to the government demanding early completion of the bridge but were only provided with empty promises.
In March 2011, a team of the Meghalaya State Planning Board had inspected the bridge and assured the people residing in the area that the bridge would be completed at the earliest.
“We have been informed that Assam PWD Officials had come for a survey of the bridge and had even taken photographs of the bridge. They had even assured the local residents that if the Meghalaya Government was unable to complete the bridge, the Assam government was willing to undertake the construction and complete the same within a short period,” FKJGP Jaintia Hills president Tuesday Lytep informed.