TURA: Rich floral tributes were paid to Late Purno A Sangma in Tura on the solemn occasion of his 3rd death anniversary with Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and former Congress chief minister D D Lapang taking part in a memorial lecture on the late leader at the district auditorium on Monday morning.
On the occasion, the Dikki Bandi Stadium was also officially renamed as the P A Sangma stadium and the Araimile-Dakopgre-Walbakgre road rechristened as P A Sangma Road.
Recalling the life of P A Sangma, Lapang said that he was a true leader who had a dream for his people.
“P A Sangma had a dream which was to reach out to everyone. He left no stone unturned to ensure that people’s expectations were met. Born in the tiny village of Chapahati, P A Sangma was brought up by his parents to be a God-fearing person and this made him diligent, humble and honest,” said Lapang as he showered laurels on the departed leader.
This year’s P A Sangma memorial lecture programme was organised by the P A Sangma Foundation in association with Synod College of Shillong.
Going back in history, Lapang also mentioned the closeness the two leaders from Garo Hills shared- Late Captain Williamson A Sangma and P A Sangma — during the Hill State movement.
“When Indira Gandhi sought a candidate from the state for the Lok Sabha elections in 1977 no one spoke. It was ultimately Captain Sangma who recommended P A Sangma’s name and said he is the right person who can raise national issues and protect regional interests,” recalled Lapang of the time when the Congress was on the downslide for imposing emergency across the country leading to its staggering defeat in the general elections, the same year, in which both Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi lost their seats to a Janata alliance of parties.
Despite all odds, P A Sangma was one among a handful of Congress candidates to win in the election.
The chief minister, who also addressed the gathering, expressed sadness over the sparse attendance at the memorial lecture.
“I am saddened by the turnout for the memorial event. Was it inadequacy on the part of the organising committee or is the public starting to forget our late leader, I’m not sure. But what I do know is that Late P A Sangma worked tirelessly for over 40 long years not just for the country, but also specially for the people of the North East, for Christians and other tribes in our region,” said the chief minister.
Taking a cue from Lapang about P A Sangma’s dream, the chief minister also reminded the gathering about his late father’s efforts to engage more youth in the civil services.
“The IAS coaching for students of the region was a dream of P A Sangma and today our government is taking in a large number of aspirants for coaching every year,” he said. His father started the civil service coaching through the P A Sangma Foundation for Garo Hills students in Delhi over a decade ago.
Others who took part in the memorial lecture included R M Lyngdoh, Principal of Synod College, Shillong, Thomas A Sangma, North Tura MLA and Secretary of P A Sangma Foundation, and M Rani, Coordinator for IQAC, Synod College.
Stadium, road named after P A Sangma
In a befitting tribute to Late P A Sangma by the state government on his 3rd death anniversary, two important landmarks of Tura town, the Dikki Bandi stadium and the Araimile-Dakopgre-Walbakgre road, were formally renamed after him. At a simple ceremony outside the Dikki-Bandi stadium, now rechristened as P A Sangma stadium, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma in the presence of dignitaries that included Home Minister James K Sangma and Soradini K Sangma, wife of Late P A Sangma, unveiled a plaque to commemorate the event.
”It is a befitting tribute to our late leader as the stadium was constructed under his MP scheme funds. In those days MP scheme was only Rs one crore for the development of the entire constituency, but in spite of these challenges our late leader ensured the completion of the stadium,” said the chief minister adding that the entire sports complex would be renovated and improved upon.
Simultaneously, the 5-km stretch of road from Araimile junction and passing through Dakopgre all the way up to Walbakgre has been named as the P A Sangma road. Recalling the efforts that went in to expand and improve the Araimile to Walbakgre road during the tenure of Late P A Sangma, the chief minister said that initially it was planned to be a four lane road but due to the problem faced over land acquisition it had to be converted into a two lane road.
It is worth mentioning that this is the only road expansion success story in the town of Tura which is otherwise plagued with narrow roads that run all across the main town.
