TURA, May 2: The Garo Students’ Union (GSU) and A’chik Youth Welfare Organisation (AYWO) from Phulbari have move West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Jagadish Chelani, accusing the M/S MP Agarwala, a Guwahati-based road construction company, of poorly carrying out the renovation and repairing of the AMPT road leading towards Phulbari region in West Garo Hills.
In their complaint to the DC, the groups, while airing dissatisfaction over the ‘poor’ execution of work on the aforesaid project, have demanded that the company be blacklisted by concerned authorities.
“The latest repair work has been a complete disaster and the AMPT road seems to be in a much worse state than before. It has not even been a quarter of a year and the road in question is already filled with potholes and cracks, making it difficult for commuters and locals to navigate, posing risks to their safety,” the groups said.
Maintaining that the situation will soon become a nightmare for school and college-going students as the monsoon season is just around the corner, the groups said that it was imperative to address the issue at the earliest.
Alleging that the poor condition of the road had also been taking a toll on the businesses of commercial vehicle owners as the vehicles would get easily damaged while plying on the AMPT road, the groups continued, “The AMPT road is an inter-state NEC road and many economic activities are being made through this stretch of road. The poor maintenance of the road will lead to unnecessary hike in the price of essential commodities, which will have a negative impact on the poor people.”
Arguing that the company, which is tasked with the construction of many roads in Garo Hills, is known for sub-standard construction, the groups warned that they would not allow such sub-standard work to take place on the AMPT road.
The groups, in their complaint, also urged that utmost importance be accorded to the restoration of the AMPT road, which, they said, serves as a lifeline for the people of Phulbari region.
It may be mentioned that only recently, the High Court of Meghalaya had directed the state government to look into the damage on the 9-km stretch of AMPT road.
The court was told that though the 9-km stretch between 32 km and 41 km was completed in February, 2023, the same has already started to break up and show signs of wearing.
“If such is the case, it would be alarming. It is completely unacceptable that a road would be repaired in the dry season of February and the road would not last even before the first pre-monsoon showers have surfaced,” the High Court had said.