SHILLONG: The Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura road has certainly improved the connectivity between Khasi Hills and Garo Hills region to a great extent but the road still has many requirements to be fulfilled so that it becomes a joy ride for everyone travelling on the road.
A visit to the road by a group of journalists reveals that the road quality is very satisfactory and vehicles can certainly zoom in many stretches.
However, the biggest drawback for every passenger on the road is the fact that the road has too many sharp bends especially from Nongstoin down till Shallang.
In the past there were demands from the people to correct the alignment of the road as it has too many curves and over-speeding on the road makes it prone to accidents.
Earlier this year, even the Opposition leaders from West Khasi Hills had cornered the State Government in the Assembly over poor alignment and frequent accidents on the newly-constructed Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura Road.
The road is definitely a boon for the state but the number of people using the road to go to Garo Hills and vice versa is still quite less though more and more people have started using the road.
Other infrastructures on the road are yet to come up as the group of journalists travelling on the road did not see any petrol pump, mechanics shop or an eatery till the stretch from Nongstoin to Shallang.
It was also seen that there were some stretches which are prone to the landslides.
If one goes by the passengers who travels on the road, the road reduces the travelling time to Williamngar and Tura by one-two hours.
Meanwhile, it was also seen that the project is more or less completed except some minor works which have remained to be taken up.
The stretch of the 264.3 km Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura starts from Lad Mawreng in East Khasi Hills District and ends in Jengal in West Garo Hills District.
The work started in 2011 and the target date for completion was on March 2014, but the project was delayed due to land hurdles.
The project is being implemented by the Hyderabad-based company BSC-C&C JV.
The road is of great benefit for people to travel across both the regions especially at a time when frequent road blockades are called by various agitating groups in Assam often affecting the movement of people travelling from Shillong to Garo Hills.
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