TURA: In an age when connectivity is primarily digital, its back to basics for the electorate of Williamnagar.
In a period doted by fibre optics and seamless digital travel, the people of Williamnagar constituency residing beyond the town and across the banks of the Simsang river earnestly wish for the most basic of amenities-bridges, to ease their daily movement.
Take the case of 45-year-old Janilla N Marak a daily wager from Chiokgre village, across Williamnagar town.
“My village is just across the Williamnagar market but there is no permanent bridge to connect either side,” says Jenilla who has to make use of a temporary bamboo structure to walk across.
Come monsoon season, the bridge gets washed away.
Then she has no option but to ride out on a boat paying ten rupees for a return trip.
“It’s difficult because there are days when I don’t get any work and end up dipping into my savings,” says the mother of several children while speaking to The Shillong Times.
To avoid paying the boatman, she has no option but to travel roundabout all the way across Warima bridge from her village, a distance of five kilometers.
The story is familiar in many other villages across the constituency where water bodies, including the mighty Simsang passes through.
“Unlike others, we have to cross the Rongon river twice to reach our homes at Kakwa Songma village,” narrates Chelleston C Marak (34), another victim of government apathy. His village is 6 kms from Williamnagar and lies in the once infamous GNLA area on the foothills of the Durama Hills.
The plight of Ganing Bibra village, 2 kms from Baiza is manifold. Besides having to cross the Simsang river on boats they face acute shortage of drinking water during the summer months.
“When the monsoon season comes we are able to get our source of drinking water from the numerous springs that open up. But during the summer season these dry up and we have to trek down to the banks of Simsang river just to fetch water,” says Merison T Sangma (40) who along with many others wish to see the developmental process taking place in the rest of the state embrace their villages also.
