SHILLONG, Nov 16: Mawphlang MLA Eugeneson Lyngdoh on Tuesday took the first step toward completing the projects his father, the late SK Sunn aspired to by laying the foundation stone for the construction of a footpath along the Shillong-Nongstoin Road (NH-44E).
Following up on the pending work of his father was one of Lyngdoh’s election promises.
The footpath will be constructed for 4,061 metres from Pomlum to Lad Mawreng (2nd to 6th km) in the East Khasi Hills district and for 1,000 metres at Kynshi (44th to 45th km) in the Eastern West Khasi Hills district.
“This project was very close to the heart of my father. I am really happy that the project is finally taking off,” Lyngdoh said, underscoring the importance of the footpath for the safety of the area’s students in particular.
The Mawphlang MLA urged the Rangbah Shnong of 14 localities of the area to cooperate with the PWD and the contractor concerned for timely completion of the project.
He also promised to follow up on other pending works of his late father and will take all possible steps to ensure that they become a reality.
PWD Chief Engineer (National Highway), Gromyko K. Marak said the tender value approved by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is Rs 4.31 crore.
He said 12 bidders had taken part in the tendering process.
“The local contractor from Jowai was the lowest bidder with a quoted price of Rs 3.18 crore. The work was allotted on August 31 but could not commence due to the by-elections,” he added.
Marak said the local contractor has assured to complete the work within April or May next year.
He further said they selected some critical stretches to construct the footpath along with a covered drain.
“The footpath will ensure the safety of pedestrians, especially school children as they will no longer need to work along the road,” he said.
Marak recalled that the late MLA used to raise this issue in the Assembly.
Sunn had sought a NOC from the government for repairing the damaged road and the footpath from his own resources because of inordinate delay in sanctioning the amount. He had also submitted a letter to the chief secretary with a copy marked to the Chief Minister in March 2020, saying he would go to court if he did not get a positive response from the government.