TURA: Failure of the government to repair a link road in North Garo Hills (NGH) despite the submission of several memorandums has compelled the local people to take matters into their own hands and undertake the work on their own.
On Thursday, residents of four villages- Babukona, Mongre, Khaldang and Belpara Rabha came together under an umbrella union, the Border Area Development Committee (BADC) to repair the Resubelpara-Krishnai road which is the nearest road that connects the district headquarters to neighbouring Assam.
Other than the town of Resubelpara, the road is a lifeline for most parts of the district and essential commodities like petrol, food products and materials used for construction are transported through this same road.
“The road has been in a dilapidated state due to total neglect by the government. There are many potholes causing much difficulty for the drivers to navigate and many commuters have met with accidents that could have been avoided had the government been concerned about the difficulty faced by the people,” Walseng N Sangma, a former leader of the GSU said while questioning if the government was waiting for more accidents and deaths to occur.
Sangma said that due to the failure of the government to maintain the road, villagers are forced to do the work on their own at their own expenses keeping in view the welfare of the general public.
“We are repairing the road with the donations of several likeminded people, self help groups and well-wishers. We are doing this collectively without any assistance from the government to bring change to the society,” Sangma added.Sangma also drew the attention of the present MDA Government and reminded that the most important road in the district was left unrepaired with no sanctions for its repair being made during the past ten years.