SHILLONG, Sep 15: In the ongoing session of the Assembly, the opposition Congress MLA from Nongpoh Mayralborn Syiem has revealed on the floor of the house the perennial problem of waterlogging along the Guwahati-Shillong Road, particularly in Nongpoh, while calling for a permanent solution to the menace.
Moving a zero-hour notice, Mayralborn Syiem said that the waterlogging issue is a common thing in Nongpoh Town, Umling, Byrnihat and Jorabat during the monsoon season.
According to him, the area at the entrance of the entry point in Umling was waterlogged on Tuesday putting commuters in discomfort and difficulty.
Maintaining that he has been following up on the issue since 2018 with Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong in-charge of PWD (Roads), he reminded the House that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2019 had accorded a sanction of more than Rs 6 crore for construction of drains, slap drains and culvert in Nongpoh town, Umling and Byrnihat, Umsning and other places falling along the national highway.
Informing that construction of the aforementioned facilities had started, he, however, revealed that the work was stopped after the pandemic hit the state.
Mayralborn Syiem also pointed out that there was heavy waterlogging along the national highway in Umlyngkdait village in Nongpoh on August 30 this year which had caused serious damage and even shopkeepers as well as general public were facing hardships. “Around 3,500 kg of PDS rice which was kept in community hall was destroyed as a result of liquid seeping in due to waterlogging. The small-time shopkeepers and even the villagers were badly affected,” the Nongpoh MLA said.
He even maintained that the affected villagers did not receive any kind of relief when they approached the district administration for assistance.
“At my level, I tried to help in whatever way I can contribute. But I would urge the state government to put in place a dedicated fund with the District Disaster Management Authority for providing relief during this kind of calamity,” Syiem said.
On the other hand, the Congress MLA has urged the state government to blacklist firms which are unable to complete the works within the stipulated time. “We cannot allow the commuters and the people to continue to suffer due to the delay (in construction of),” he added.
In response, the deputy chief minister admitted that this is a recurring issue which the people of Nongpoh town, Umling, Byrnihat and other areas along the national highway would face during the monsoon.
Admitting that the Ministry had accorded a sanction of over Rs 6 crore, he said that a portion of the road from Jorabat up to Umiam is being looked after by the National Highways Authority of India.
Tynsong added that they had not been able to start the work in few of the stretches along Nongpoh town due to land issue arising out of land tenure system in the state.
“This is one of the reasons that the fund accorded for the construction drains, slap drains and culvert along the national highway could not be utilised,” the deputy chief minister added.
