SHILLONG: A group of 46 representatives from different villages of South West Khasi Hills raised a unified voice for better road connectivity in the district, with special reference to the construction of the Nongstoin-Mawthabah road.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the representatives stated that 95 per cent of the people in the district were looking forward to construction of the Nongstoin-Mawthabah road sanctioned by the Central government under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP).
A Joint Action Committee of the villagers on Tuesday met KHADC chief P.N. Syiem and urged him to issue the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the PWD department to enable the department to start the road project.
Interestingly, one of the members of the JAC recalled that the two lane project could be traced back to 1968 when the soil was dug for construction of a road but was left unattended after the then United Khasi-Jaintia Hills ADC delayed issuing the NOC.
The proposed Nongstoin-Mawthabah road has a length of 61.510 km and is estimated to be built at a cost of Rs 485.28 crore sanctioned by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
The JAC further stated that the Wahkaji Primary health Centre, established in 1997, had become non-functional after the State Government handed it over to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in 2007.
It may be reminded that UCIL had sanctioned Rs 38 crore for a two lane road from Wahkaji till Mawthabah, a distance of over 20 km, to be built under the supervision of the KHADC.
The delegation, while welcoming the road project, made it clear that they were opposed to Uranium mining.
Reacting to the opposition by the KSU and others on the road project, the JAC members said that they were surprised that people from Shillong and Mawkyrwat were protesting against the road project that meant nothing to them.
