NONGSTOIN: Albeit repeated requests and submission of memorandums to the Chief Minister, PWD Minister, Chief Secretary, and Chief Engineer (PWD Roads) among others, the Sohpian-Nongstoin-Urkali road remains a “nobody’s child”, ignored by the concerned authorities of the State.
The reconstruction of the 14 km stretch had been assured by the likes of the CM, the Executive Engineer PWD (Roads), West Khasi Hills District. But commuters on the route continue to bear the brunt of one of the worst stretches of road in the State.
A testimony to its pathetic state can be ascertained from the number of vehicles that break down on a daily basis on this route.
Several pressure groups and NGOs including the KSU, FKJGP, WYF and WKSU along with the local MDC and MLA had appealed for the reconstruction of the road but to no avail. The stretch also leads to the Civil Hospital, Nonsgtoin making the journey perilous for the patients.
Two children lost their lives en route to the hospital owing to the bad road conditions.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, some of the residents of Nongstoin said, “The fact there are no Congress MLAs from West Khasi Hills, particularly from Nongstoin could be a reason for the bad condition of the roads. It would not be wrong to say that the lackadaisical attitude of the government is a kind of punishment for electing a non-Congress representative.”
A youth leader of Nongstoin said, “While the world is clamoring for 4G mobile services and other modern amenities, we in Nongstoin are demanding for the basic amenities like proper roads, which sadly are denied to us.”
Desperate to get the road repaired, the FKJGP West Khasi Hills District Unit had called a 12-hour road blockade on April 9. However, following assurances from the SDO (PWD), Mawmaram Sub Division and the Executive Engineer (PWD Roads) West Khasi Hills District, of temporarily repairing the road, the agitation was called off.
Later the PWD authorities dumped debris from the road-side and the so-called repair work hardly lasted a few hours.
