SHILLONG: Looks like it was a bogey call by the local NGOs when they expressed their misgivings about the de-sanctioning of the proposed entry and exit point at Umling in the Gauhati-Shillong highway. It has been officially confirmed that there is no move to abandon the scheme.
Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma announced on Saturday that the state government had abandoned the idea of going for RCC construction and in lieu was coming up with a prefab structure which would be commissioned in two months time.
He clarified that the earlier proposal involving nearly Rs 16 crore was de-sanctioned since the cost and the time involved would take about a year or a year and half.
However realising the urgency to come up with the entry and exit point in view of COVID-19 situation, the Government de-sanctioned the old one and instead went for the new prefab structure.
The Chief Minister also asserted that the entire issue had been taken in a wrong manner as only half of the message about de-sanctioning of the project was portrayed leaving out the full story is that the proposal of having entry-exit point was abandoned by the government.
Reiterating that his government was committed to address the concern related to the issue of influx, he added that the Government is also committed to implementing the entry point especially during these COVID times
“If you look at the entire system we are following and registration and testing is compulsory for anybody who is coming into the state even when the entry exit point is not yet in ready”, he said.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Commissioner and Secretary of the Tourism department said that a new sanction has been issued by the Department of Tourism, for construction of Facilitation Centre (Entry Point) at Umling last month.
The statement said that this pre-fabricated facility is being constructed on the Government land belonging to the Transport Department which is already levelled and is ready for construction of the super structure.
“The new proposal was required, given the need to integrate COVID 19 screening and testing facility along with the Facilitation Centre (Entry Point). The construction of this Facilitation Centre (Entry Point) on the new land is expected to be finished by the end of November 2020 and the Facilitation Centre (Entry Point) is expected to be operational by December 2020,” the statement said.