By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In what can be best described as a case fit for entry into the record books of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, a bridge in Williamnagar over the Simsang river in East Garo Hills district is being constructed for the past 45 years but the work is still far from over.
Social Welfare Minister and Williamnagar legislator, Deborah Marak, recently informed a group of reporters that construction of the bridge had started forty-five years back but the same was yet to be completed.
“The bridge was under construction even when I was a student in school,” Marak, a senior Cabinet Minister and a former Deputy Chief Minister, said.
Marak informed that she had recently conducted an inspection of the bridge and was shocked to see that there were no labourers in sight. “When I enquired, the Sub-divisional Officer told me that the labourers had gone home and would be returning back to work soon,” she added.
Asserting that ninety per cent of the work has been completed, the Minister stated that she would exert pressure on the contractor to finish the project within this year.
“Until the bridge is constructed there would not be any development on the other side,” the Minister said, adding that the bridge was strategic since it would bring development to the other side of the Simsang river which has remained neglected for years.
Pointing out that financial constraint was the main factors for the slow progress of the construction work, the Minister also rued the fact that the Government had, earlier, sanctioned additional bridges in the area but the MPA Government had scrapped the proposals for all the bridges citing fund crunch.
East Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Vijay Kr Mantri, meanwhile, asserted that he had held discussions with the PWD and the contractors soon after he assumed charge of the district.
“Now the bridge is getting into shape,” Mantri said, while adding that the bridge would ‘surely’ be completed within one year.
Meanwhile, the Minister also informed that the State Government has taken the initiative to develop Williamnagar town and a Dubai-based firm would visit the town on Wednesday to conduct study and prepare a plan for the development of the district headquarter.
It may be mentioned that Williamnagar is the only town in the State where the land solely belongs to the Government and not to the individuals like in other parts of the State. The government holds ownership of the land in Williamnagar, largely due to the efforts of Captain Williamson Sangma, the first Chief Minister of Meghalaya, who had bought lands in Williamnagar from the village heads for government use.