SHILLONG, May 14: The shoddy construction of the Rs 48-crore Inter-State Bus Terminus 
(ISBT) at Mawiong has been exposed by none other than nature itself.
Just six weeks’ after it became functional, heavy rains, which wreaked havoc across the state on May 13, bared the sub-standard construction of the building.
Videos and pictures of cracked walls and leaked ceilings went viral on social media on Friday, raising questions about the quality of the work executed.
The project, which was taken up by the state PWD (National Highway Division), was handed over to the Transport department following its inauguration in July last year by Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, a senior PWD official told The Shillong Times on Saturday.
On cracked walls and leakages, the official shifted the blame to the Transport department stating that prior to the handing over of the building, there were no such complaints of shoddy construction. He further stated that the PWD department had also not received any such complaint from the Transport department.
The project, sanctioned by the North Eastern Council in 2013, has been in the news as the passengers are facing a lot of hardships commuting between the ISBT and Shillong due to exorbitant fares charged by the local cabbies. Despite appeals, the government has not been able to solve the problem.
Rain-related deaths climb to three
The death toll in rain-related incidents in Meghalaya rose to three on Saturday as one more person drowned in a swollen river in East Khasi Hills, an official said.
“Two persons who went fishing from Mawber village yesterday went missing. One of them was found dead after getting washed ashore downstream. Another one is missing,” a senior police officer said.
He said the search and rescue operation for the missing person is on.
Heavy rains lashed Meghalaya on Thursday night and Friday as the capital city witnessed one of the highest rainfall caused by moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal, officials said.
Two persons died in East Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi district on Friday.
Landslides were reported at various places across the state causing traffic disruptions in many areas and most rivers crossed their danger marks, they said.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences, which had also forecasted extremely heavy rainfall in Meghalaya on Saturday, also warned people to avoid staying in vulnerable structures and avoid travelling to water-logged areas.
Mawsynram town, perched at the edge of a ridge in the Southern slopes of East Khasi Hills district, recorded 483.2 mm rainfall on Thursday.
Sohra received 104 mm rainfall while Shillong city and Mawkyrwat received 111.5 mm and 184 mm rainfall respectively on Friday. (With PTI inputs)