SHILLONG, March 15: The sorry tale of the residents of Sakri village in East Jaintia Hills — which is deprived of a motorable road, drinking water and power supply — has finally caught the attention of the state government, and it may likely witness all-round development in the coming years.
The government, on Monday, expressed commitment to usher in an overall development in Sakri village.
Moving a zero-hour notice on the plight of the residents of the village during the budget session of the Assembly, Mawsynram MLA HM Shangpliang said that the village has no provisions for power and water supply and even lacks a motorable road, while elucidating that people are compelled to walk for around seven kilometres to reach the national highway.
Shedding light on the difficulties of the villagers, Shangpliang said that some residents admit to feeling neglected by the administration.
Lamenting that the villagers do not even get ration, Shangpliang asked Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to take stock of all the backward villages in Meghalaya so as to bring them on par with other state villages.
Replying to the zero-hour notice, the chief minister said that Sakri is a small hamlet with 35 households and a population of 210 people. He also informed that EPIC distribution in the village is 100 per cent, adding that Sakri was recognised by the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council in 2013.
According to the chief minister, the village so far has not approached the authorities for a separate polling station.
Informing that the welfare schemes for the village is routed through Tongseng village, Conrad said that the demand for MGNREGA in Sakri is low, however, work under NREGS is being provided as per the demand.
Water supply scheme was sanctioned in 2007-08 for the village at a cost of Rs 28 lakh, the chief minister informed while speaking about water supply. “However, there is a scarcity of water in the dry season,” he added. The PHE department is planning to adopt a multipronged approach to address the water crisis in Sakri in collaboration with the community.
Since the village is yet to be notified as census village, the water supply for the village could not be augmented under the Jal Jeevan Mission and a proposal is being prepared to augment the village with water supply from other source, the chief minister informed the House.
Assuring that steps will be taken to enumerate Sakri as a separate village in census data, Conrad Sangma said that electricity connection was provided to the village in 2013-14 but some equipment are not functional as a result of which power supply has been affected. Steps will be taken to ensure that the village gets power supply, the CM asserted.
“I will personally look into all these aspects and ensure that all help is given to the village,” he said.