SHILLONG, March 3: The road from Umtyngar to Sohra, which missed out on repair work since 2013, is now set to get a facelift with Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong laying the foundation stone for revamp of the said road at Mawkdok on Wednesday.
The project, ‘Improvement of Riding Quality and Sealing of Distressed Pavement of Shillong – Sohra Road from 22nd Km to 53rd Km’, was included in the Budget 2020-2021 of the government under the ‘Systematic Maintenance Programme (SMP)’ implemented by PWD for repair and improvement of roads.
The total budget sanctioned for the project is Rs 12 crore. The scheme includes blacktopping of the road from Umtyngar to Mawsmai through Semi Dense Bituminous Macadam.
The Umtyngar-Sohra road was last repaired under the Special Plan Assistance. Scheme in the year 2013. Since then, no more repairs were done on the road and over time, it deteriorated with rots and cracks developing on various stretches of the road due to overdue surface renewal.
Speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, while expressing happiness over laying the base for the project, said that the government is committed to bring about an overall change, not only in the major towns of the state but also rural areas, with prime focus on the roads.
He pointed out that the Umtyngngar to Sohra road is one of the most important roads in the state as it connects countless number of villages in the region stretching right up to Shella and all the way down to the border of Bangladesh.
Speaking about the significance of Sohra as a tourist destination, Tynsong informed that hundreds of vehicles ferrying tourists travel on the aforementioned stretch, which in turn provides gainful employment to the people residing in these areas. “Therefore, the government is prioritising the repair and improvement of the road from Shillong to Sohra,” he added.
The state government is also planning to further develop the road connectivity up to Shella, which will allow tourists to visit areas beyond Sohra like Wahrew as well as Shella.
On this note, he informed that the government has sent a proposal to the Centre to consider converting the Umtyngar Bholaganj road to a national highway, which the Centre is studying.