SHILLONG: With hardly any regular maintenance work being carried out, the state of many of the national highways in Meghalaya is deteriorating, while the condition of a number of roads is in stark contrast with the state of affairs few years back.
The Shillong-Umiam Road is the busiest road in Meghalaya but its condition along many stretches is not impressive at all despite it being the linkage to the state capital.
The road was repaired around two years ago but presently there are many stretches which have been damaged, thanks to the landslides and other factors resulting in its wear and tear.
Some vulnerable stretches are prone to landslides albeit the road being clear. Nonetheless, landslides continue to pose a major risk for the commuters.
An official said that the repairing on the road can be taken up only after the defect liability period of the contractor is over and the period will end after a year.
Also, landslides due to heavy rainfall earlier this year caused damage on the roads along several stretches of the Umiam-Jorabat expressway. People say that after every few metres, they encounter a pothole, which defeats the very basic objective of constructing an expressway for more than Rs 500 crore.
However, some who travel frequently say that the road condition has improved slightly after NHAI started the repair work along some stretches, while adding that the progress is very slow.
In addition, the NH-6 connecting Jowai to Shillong, too, is in a bad shape with wear and tear along several stretches, especially between Mookyndur and Puriang, where frequent traffic jams occur.
However, repair work has been allotted and under way, under the all-repairing plan, according to officials.