By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 21: PWD (Roads) Minister Prestone Tynsong came under heavy fire from Rajabala MLA Mizanur Rahman Kazi, who questioned the state of disarray in which the Agia-Medhipara-Phulbari-Tura (AMPT) road, specifically the stretch from Rajabala to Haldiganj, currently is in.
The issue was raised during the question hour of the Assembly here on Thursday.
“The ground fact is that the road is in despair and irreparable condition, to say in a practical way, no road exists, it’s such the local inhabitants and the NGOs had to repair the roads themselves by bringing in JCBs,” the Rajabala MLA said.
This was in reaction to the Deputy Chief Minister’s answer that the status of the AMPT road is motorable.
The Rajabala legislator further argued that the state government has a step-motherly attitude towards their constituency, given the importance of the stretch as it connects the western part of the state to the rest of the state and even other parts of the country.
The PWD (Roads) minister stated that the government is well aware of the importance, and thereby they have also requested the central government to make it a National Highway.
Tynsong detailed down statuses of various stretches of the road, specifying where the construction work was underway, where the DPR is under preparation, and where the road was already in good condition.
However, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, coming to the rescue of his fellow minister, trashed the accusation of step-motherly attitude and said that they are equally concerned which is the reason why the AMPT road was one of the roads to be put under the World Bank Project and another one under the NESIDS.
He advised the MLA to have patience, as this project cannot be completed in 6 months.
Dhubri-Phulbari bridge
The AMPT Road is an arterial road of great importance and with the bridge across the Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Phulbari scheduled to be completed in the next three or four years.
However, Songsak legislator Mukul Sangma, questioning the change in alignment of the bridge, asked whether change in alignment would have any impact.
“The previous alignment was made keeping in mind the environmental impact and avoiding densely populated areas, why was the alignment changed and what is its impact?” questioned Mukul.
Justifying his stance, he said that he is concerned as there are not many places in the state where non-tribal can be assigned lands, further asking him the exact number of people that were displaced.
The deputy responding to the former CM’s query said that the government resorted to the new alignment as it was beneficial to the state government in totality, and the proposal was accepted by the central government.
He also added that the people have been rehabilitated, but he does not have the exact number and would require notice for that.