Tura, Dec 27: Garo Hills, in the sphere of infrastructure has continued to remain one of the worst in the entire country with rural connectivity being the main concerns for the lakhs of residents of the region.
The above development comes despite projects by the hundreds being sanctioned for it and most of the major routes being worked on. The worst impacted, if there is such a term, will definitely go to the districts of South Garo Hills, North and West Garo Hills.
The district of South Garo Hills is definitely the worst affected in terms of infrastructure with the NH 62 – that runs through the entire breadth of the district remaining in shambles. If you add the road connectivity in Chokpot and Rongara – Siju to the mix, one would not be faulted for thinking the state is still living in the 1980’s instead of the present year.
In Chokpot, the PWD road that connects it to the NH – 51 has remained a major cause of concern to the people as the entire stretch, despite Meghalaya achieving 50 years of statehood this year, has never been fully completed.
“Contracts are given for repairing or restoring parts of the almost 50 km road that runs through the various villages under Chokpot C&RD Block. Despite pleas being made to the government as well as the local councilors, the situation has not changed. This has caused us immense hardship as travelling takes a major part of our lives due to the nature of the roads,” said a Chokpot resident.
What has been more damning is the fact that while there have been contracts made out for road projects, these are never completed on time or done in such a horrific manner that it is destined to fall apart, sometimes even just a month after completion.
One of the roads that connect Chokpot to neighboring Gasuapara, just about 30 kms away, has not been touched by anyone despite their being thousands that live and work on the route. In fact the situation has become so untenable that during the monsoons, residents leave their cars near the junction under a government office compound due to the road being unusable during the monsoons.
“You should come and see some of the road during the monsoon. 4WD vehicles are passé and even motorcycles can only navigate through some parts. Imagine the situation we face when even people walking on the road fall due to the slippery nature of the road. Business and markets become a pipe dream for us and have been so for more than 40 years now,” informed a resident during a visit to the area.
Complaints of the roads in other parts of the district too are similar. The flash floods this year have not helped with many parts of SGH becoming completely washed away leaving residents stranded. Efforts to provide relief too had to wait days as connectivity was completely hit.
“Unless someone takes a serious look at the infrastructure issues faced by us, we will not be able to breathe a sigh. The good news is that many projects, including the Baghmara – Ranikor road (under construction) and the NH – 62 (expected to start soon) are in the offing. However SGH needs all the help it can get from governments for it to match the rest of the state,” felt SR Sangma, a Baghmara resident.
For NGH, the main issue has been the continued delay in the construction of the 36 km road between Damra to Bajengdoba and the Adokgre – Mangsang road.
Badri Rai and Company (BRC), which won the contract for the Damra – Bajengdoba road began the project as early as 2019 but despite the short stretch, delays after delays have continued to cause angst amongst the local populace. With allegations of the contractor being provided almost 60% of the project cost, without even doing 30% of the work has led to residents believing the project may not see completion in their lifetime. The company however has promised to finish the entire route by May end next year.
The ill fated Adokgre – Mangsang – Rongjeng route has an even more torrid history. Sanctioned during the tenure of the last Congress led government in 2017, the road is now in jeopardy of never seeing the light of the day after one of the government agencies funding the project, withdrew. What this has done for the local population is left an otherwise usable road into a completely useless one.
“You can’t use the road fully. Forget summer or winter, the fact is that you cannot use the road beyond a point and commerce, which was always flourishing, has now hit a roadblock due to the road being dug up and not redone. Our hope was for a better future but now we can only see darkness,” felt a resident of Mangsang, Bamba Sangma.
The Mendipathar – Snogsak road too is in a state of complete disrepair as the road has not been provided maintenance over the years. Some patches are currently being filled with mud in an effort to maintain its workability.
As far as rural, interior roads go, the situation has not got any better despite the many PMGSY roads sanctioned and being built. Many areas still struggle to ensure a working road that the public can use.
In West Garo Hills, the main area of concern has been the delay in the completion of the NH 51 between Dalu and Tura. The highway which is under the NHIDCL began work earnestly in 2018 after being approved by the previous government. However, almost five years into the project, almost 50% of the 48 km road remains incomplete. The fact that it is being done under the NH projects and still remains in its current state, has set tongues wagging on the reasons.
The AMPT road, as always deserves a mention as not only is it one of the most widely used roads of the entire Garo Hills region but also one of the worst to travel on. This year has not changed much in terms of how people feel while travelling the route though efforts are now on to repair it. Many sections, including the ones between Sign Board to Nidanpur are currently under repair and are being used with much cursing.
On the same route however, between the villages of Rajabala until Gonglanggre still leaves you short of breath from the expletives that rush out of your mouth. Of course, a muscle crunching massage is guaranteed with every trip. This even after the High Court ordered the state for the repairs to be undertaken under its watchful eyes.
If one wants to complete a review of road infrastructure in Garo Hills, it cannot be complete without the mention of the Hill road between Rongram to Phulbari where decades had passed before a new road was sanctioned in early 2021. What is alarming on the route is the fact that despite promises made by the CM, Conrad Sangma, of the road being fast tracked for the sake of rural development, the contractors (BRC again) have literally sat on the sidelines.
What is even more infuriating is the fact that more than 77 crores has been given to the contractors by the PWD while hardly anything has been done on the ground. The withdrawal of so much money even prompted the opposition to question the NPP led government on favoritism being shown to some while other contractors struggle for payments despite completing their works.
“There are questions that need to be asked of this government as to why they are favouring some firms in doling out money for work they have not even completed while local contractors are struggling with bills that have been pending since the government began its tenure. This has to be explained by the department and the government in question,” felt Mukul Sangma during an interview a month ago.
The other two districts, East and South West have road infrastructure that needs to be maintained though most of the roads are workable. Exception however has to be made of the Ampati – Mahendraganj section of the road which was good until the government allowed for heavy vehicles with an overload of stones for export into Bangladesh. Most of the road now has become a traveler’s nightmare.