NONGPOH: The first nursing institute in Ri Bhoi, the construction of which was completed two years ago, remains abandoned.
The institute has been constructed on a plot of land given free of cost by the Pahamsyiem village dorbar.
This correspondent recently visited the barren building along with members of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) to witness how public money was wasted. The apathy of the government was apparent.
Wirings and other electrical items in the building were either stolen or damaged.
The foundation stone for the nursing institute was laid by DD Lapang in 2015 during the tenure of Mukul Sangma as the chief minister in the MUA II government. Health and Family Welfare Minister AL Hek was also present. The project was completed in 2016.
The leaders had promised that the institute, once inaugurated, would offer diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) courses for 30 to 40 students in the first batch and extend to 75 seats in the second batch as the state was facing a shortage of trained nurses.
But the building was left abandoned due to reasons best known to the government.
The place has turned into a safe haven for anti-social activities. The foundation stone was also missing from the site.
Marcus Marten, HNYF Northern Region president, told media persons that the government failed to start this institute. He sought the intervention of the Public Accounts Committee to follow up this project “so that the public money spent will not go waste”.
He added that there should be a CBI investigation to find if there was any scam in the construction of this institute.
