‘Apathy’ prompts residents to repair road

SHILLONG: Fed up with repeated pleas and reminders to the authorities going unheard, residents of Nongrimmaw and Lumsohra near Umpling Road (popularly known as Goralane Road) in Laitumkhrah took the onus on them to temporarily repair the road on Monday.
The road which is used by commuters and vehicles coming from Rynjah, Nongrim Hills and other areas has been lying in a dilapidated condition for the past three years allegedly because of the apathetic attitude of the state PWD to repair it.
Despite several reminders and representations made to the state government through the local representative, the authorities paid no heed which led to the residents to take the desperate step. The road has been left unattended because of the lack of proper records from the PWD department in regard to maintenance, as occasionally it was earlier maintained by the defence authorities.
Likewise, the Arbuthnot Road was maintained by Assam Rifles when its headquarters was at Nongrimmaw. However, the road is mentioned as Umpling Road in the records of land documents of the people residing near it. The residents also rued the step-motherly attitude adopted by the PWD, alleging that while it has repaired other roads in the city but left Umpling road to deteriorate.
In a press release, the residents said that a public meeting would soon be convened to decide upon the future course of action if the road was not repaired before the Assembly elections.