By Aafaque Hussain
SHILLONG: The problem of frequent power cuts in Garo Hills may soon be over as the State Government has finally managed to get the land of an Assam resident from where the Agia-Nangalbibra transmission line is supposed to pass.
The owner of the land, one Alhaj Hussain Ali, had taken the matter to court and had demanded Rs 84 lakh as compensation for the land which was required for the transmission line.
Meghalaya Power Minister Clement Marak on Saturday informed that the land owner has decided to part with his land for the project without demanding any money for the same.
“I met the land owner and explained to him that this project would benefit the entire Garo Hills after which he was convinced,” Marak told The Shillong Times on Saturday.
According to Marak, Alhaj Ali has also withdrawn the case and already handed over the land to the State Government for the project about one month back.
Though the State Government was targeting to complete the construction of the 132-KV Agia-Nangalbibra transmission line by March 2012, it could not be turned into a reality due to the controversy and the ongoing court case.
Reacting to a query, Marak said that the work for stringing in the area has already started and the Government now plans to commission the project in the month of July.
“We won’t have any problem now for the project,” the Minister said with confidence.
The Agia-Nangalbibra transmission line would be able to draw power to Garo Hills during emergency situations and solve the omnipresent power crisis in Garo Hills region.
Power woes continue in Garo Hills
Residents of Garo Hills were once again left high and dry due to a power cut which lasted for about 25 hours. Residents complained that power supply was cut off at around 6 pm on Friday evening and since then people were bearing the brunt of hot weather without any power for the last twenty-five hours.
According to the residents, power was finally restored at 7.30 pm on Saturday evening.
When contacted, Power Minister Clement Marak informed that the power was disrupted as the transmission wire had broken somewhere between Mawngap and Nangalbibra.
Reacting to a query on why it took such a long time for the power to be restored, the Minister said that the fault occurred in the middle of a dense forest and it was difficult for the team to locate the fault and accordingly rectify it.