‘Private weigh bridges defying load limit orders’
NONGSTOIN: The KSU Mawshynrut Unit on Tuesday inspected the stretch of the road between Riangdo and Athiabari after they received reports about the dilapidated condition of the road which had been repaired in December last year.
The KSU unit led by its president, Armstrong Sohshang, and general secretary, Armstrong L Nonglait, also went to the office of M/S Agarwal and Co. which had undertaken the repair work, to find out the reasons behind the worsening condition of the road.
Officials of M/S Agarwal and Co. informed the KSU members that the bad condition of the road was due to the fact that hundreds of overloaded trucks ply on the road on a daily basis. The officials said the Supreme Court and the Deputy Commissioner of West Khasi Hills District had banned carriage of over 9 tons of load, but most truckers blatantly defy the orders.
It may be mentioned that coal bearing trucks from Shallang in West Khasi Hills District ply from Shallang to Assam via Riangdo and Athiabari, which is the border of Assam in West Khasi Hills District.
The KSU members also noticed that there were several privately-owned weigh bridges in the area, in particular, a weigh bridge at Nongdaju, which was permitting trucks to carry coal weighing over 15-16 tons.
Besides, the personnel manning the weigh bridge were offloading coal from trucks carrying over 16 tons, the KSU alleged, while questioning the authorities who had permitted a privately-owned weigh bridge to operate in the area and permit carriage of 15- 16 tons and also to offload the extra coal.
“These weigh bridges are defying the law. Despite all this, it is astounding that the district administration is yet to depute officials to the area to conduct checks. If this goes on, the KSU will set up its own weigh bridge and put a check on all the trucks carrying coal over the permissible limit of 9 tons,” the KSU unit president said.
