Khasi PWD engineer’s contribution remembered

SHILLONG: A road which has been in existence for half a century now lies neglected and pathetic prompting Independent legislator SK Sunn to recollect the contribution of the Khasi engineer who tried to improve the road.
Moving a motion on the condition of the Mawphlang- Balat road especially the portion from Mawphlang to Umlangmar, Sunn said on Wednesday that the available record shows that half a century ago on May 15, 1967, one Khasi Engineer took charge as the Executive Engineer of the newly created PWD Division of the then Government of Assam. The newly created division was MB Division and the name of the Khasi engineer was (L) Brown Kharmalki.
According to Sunn, the PWD MB Division headquartered in Shillong and PWD Mawphlang Sub-Division headquartered in Mawphlang were specifically created with the sole objective of entrusting the MB Division with the construction of the Mawphlang-Balat road.
“After a major portion of the MB road construction
was completed, Kharmalki left the MB Division in 1973 and, went on to become the Secretary of State, PWD and was one of the best engineers, the state has produced,” Sunn said.
However, in subsequent years, there have been no follow up actions to widen the MB Road after the formation of Meghalaya 1972.
The significance of the road is that it connects four constituencies, Mawphlang, Mawkyrwat, Mawsynram and Ranikor with the state capital.