SHILLONG, Dec 4: Former Nongthymmai MLA and United Democratic Party (UDP) general secretary Jemino Mawthoh, on Friday, informed that the PHE Nongrah Water Supply Scheme (Phase-1) is nearing completion with 70 per cent work done so far.
He revealed this after carrying out an inspection which was led by PHE Minister Renikton Lyngdoh along with engineers and members of the Dorbar Shnong.
More than Rs 5.92 crore was sanctioned in March 2017 for the scheme, which will cater to a population of over 12,000 hailing from different localities in Nongrah.
Stating that for decades altogether people have been suffering by purchasing water all the time, Mawthoh urged the department to work sincerely.
He added, “Phase-I is likely to be completed in less than two years but there is progress in work at least. We are thinking about the long term as the population is increasing and so is demand”.
When asked about the delay in completion of the work, Mawthoh said, “Before 2013, Charles (Pyngrope) was the MLA for ten years but nothing came out of it … when I became the MLA, I pursued and the PHE finally approved the scheme on March 31, 2017”.
He said that this was also possible with cooperatiion from the Dorbar Shnong and four other individuals who donated the land.
It may be mentioned that Nongrah, comprising Lummarboh, Nongmarboh, Nongpdeng, Dongktieh and Nonglum falling under the Nongthymmai Constituency, has been experiencing acute water scarcity for decades. Nongrah and Lapalang are excluded from the GSWSS (Phase III).
It was also informed that the two water augmentation schemes taken up by the PHE department, Hills Division, in the past are unable to cater to the growing population.