Assam hands over Meghalaya dumper, driver
GUWAHATI: Normality prevailed at Ranighat village near Malapara along the Assam-Meghalaya border on Sunday, a day after residents vented their ire against Assam police personnel for allegedly halting construction of a road under PMGSY.
Official sources in Assam told The Shillong Times that officials from West Khasi Hills district administration and Kamrup district administration had a meeting at the site on Saturday and agreed to maintain status quo until further notice.“We had a meeting on Saturday and it has been agreed upon that status quo would be maintained and that there would be no construction or development activity on the kutcha stretch till further notification,” an official said.
A dumper brought to the site for road construction and subsequently confiscated by officials from Assam on Saturday was kept overnight at Boko in Kamrup district. “Along with the driver, Bomdingstar Lyngdoh, the vehicle which was confiscated was handed over to Meghalaya authorities on Sunday. The Deputy Commissioner of West Khasi Hills, T. Lyngwa said “The PMGSY road work in Malapara will stop for now until both the states come in to a conclusion.”
The road stretching about 6km from Athiabari to Umshiak under Hahim police outpost is said to serve as a lifeline for several villages in the area but negotiating the slush and dirt, particularly during the rainy season, is as close to a nightmare for the residents. Villagers allege that the stretch has not been repaired for years and that an attempt by Meghalaya yet again has not been allowed to materialise.
“We desperately want the road which would cater to residents of about 25-30 villages. Right now, we are not bothered who constructs it. Our children have not been able to attend schools, patients are suffering and daily activities have been hampered. Worse still, a wooden bridge constructed by us has been washed away by floodwaters,” Renu Bala Marak, a middle-aged woman of Ranighat, rued.
Marak further alleged that neither the local MLA nor any minister have been kind enough to understand their daily ordeal.
“But when it comes to votes, they come to us. Now they are shying away from their promises. We do not understand why the authorities in Assam are not taking up development activities,” she said.
Kenning Sangma, a resident of Malapara, too cried foul. “Assam claims ownership of the area but it has only set up five LP schools – Athiabari, Mathaphuta, Maspara, Ranighat and Salpara – so far, while Meghalaya has given us water supply, electricity, facilities under PMGSY, jobs under MNREGA schemes. Work on the 6km road under PMGSY had begun in October last year but then too authorities in Assam had halted work,” Sangma alleged.
He further alleged that an earth-mover (JCB) was also brought to the site by authorities from Assam to break down some concrete portions constructed under the scheme.“But a group of residents prevented them from proceeding and subsequently took possession of the vehicle. But soon after Meghalaya officials intervened, they agreed to hand over the JCB in lieu of the dumper seized by Assam police,” Sangma said.Several hundreds of children pass through this stretch everyday and the lack of a bridge has also taken a toll on the finances of their guardians. “In the absence of the wooden bridge, parents have to shell out Rs 30 every day for their kids to take a ride on a raft to cross the river to attend school,” Superson Sangma, a resident of Gijang, said. Asked about the incident, Boko police station officer-in-charge, Jogendra Barman claimed that the land where work was halted belonged to Assam. “We have been time and again doing the same as the land belongs to Assam. Now, there is status quo in the area and the situation is peaceful,” he said.
(With inputs from Our Nongstoin Correspondent)