TURA, May 5: Garo Hills continues to be plagued by the extremely poor road connectivity between major towns in all the five districts that form the region. While the national highways (51, 44 and a part of 62) provide roads that still give your body a rest, travel through the other parts of Garo Hills can be a strenuous exercise.
The day began with news of the notoriously bad AMPT road being blocked after a trailer, carrying goods for the upcoming bridge between Phulbari and Dhubri, nearly turned turtle while another dumper truck, carrying boulders also suffering a breakdown literally at the same place, near the village of Paham under Tikrikilla PS in West Garo Hills (WGH). The road was later cleared by authorities to allow normal traffic flow – though cases of trucks breaking down are extremely common due to the poor road situation.
The 145-km-long AMPT road has been in bad shape since the past two decades despite the road being rebuilt during the term of the previous government. However the quantum of money sanctioned for one of the most used routes in Meghalaya was hardly enough.
After its handover sometime in 2014, the road began to immediately deteriorate, in some cases, within a week. More than half a million people belonging to Assam and Meghalaya have had to continue living through some of the worst stretches of roads possible since then.
“Some are nightmare stretches on this route. The section between Garobadha to Rajabala (about 40 kms in length) is the story that needs to be experienced to understand how we feel. Similar is the situation in most of the sections,” said New Bhaitbari resident, Mostopha Kabir.
His sentiments were echoed by many. What has been even more worrisome is the slow pace at which a section, Nidanpur to Signboard (about 40 km), has literally been kept pending despite being sanctioned over 2.5 years ago. Road authorities, however, have hardly been bothered to keep strict vigil and ensure progress – a sign which points to collusion.
The second picture is that of the Songsak – Mendipathar road, which was touted by the previous Congress-led government to be built with German technology that would last years. However, after inordinate delays in construction that was given to a firm, C&C, the road began to unravel very quickly. The same company was also given the section between Mendipathar and Resubelpara and the result of ‘German technology’ is there for all to see.
While most sections of the Songsak – Mendi road is still traversable, at least 8-10 km of the road is in abject condition. With the brunt of the monsoon still on the way, most fear the worst.
“These roads are essential to a lot of people from the rural belt in both East and North Garo Hills but the maintenance is off the charts. In fact there has hardly been any repair with only some sand gravel being used to try and cover pot holes. With the Damra – Bajengdoba road also in a similar state, the entire NGH can only pray that people in power understand our plight and act to ease our pains,” stated social activist, Walseng Sangma.
For SGH, the nightmare has always been the NH – 62 that covers almost the entire stretch of the district. While the road upto Jadigittim is easy to cover, the situation turns into a long nightmare immediately after. The NH-62 can easily be termed as one of the worst national highways in the country since the past two decades and it has not changed despite repeated appeals by residents.
The highway earlier had more than 30 timber bridges though most of it is now out of commission since the past few years. A few still remain though. What also remains is the pathetic road condition that begins from Rongsa Awe right up to Dimapara, bordering WGH.
For NH – 62, however, there is still a bright spark with the road set to be completely overhauled, hopefully in the coming two years, something that people still hope on.
Other notable nightmare routes in Garo Hills include the Rongram – Dadenggre – Phulbari road (Hill Road), the road between Gonglanggre – Selsella – Rajabala. These two routes are currently being re-hauled or are in the process, though that will still take time.
