By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 29: The state government on Wednesday declared its desire for the timely completion of all four packages of the Shillong-Dawki road, as well as the serious consideration and prompt start of work by NHIDCL and the contractors.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma stated, “The road, as you are aware, is in fairly bad condition in certain places. The NHIDCL has confirmed that they will begin the repair work of the road under phase four of the Shillong-Dawki road project immediately. In order to ensure that the repair of phase four, or the fourth sector, which is closer to Dawki, begins right away, we have therefore made quick arrangements.”
“The NHIDCL has confirmed to us that they will begin the repair work in a few days and that the quality will be maintained for the repair,” Sangma stated after conducting a review of the abnormally-delayed Shillong-Dawki road project.
He said, “So while the repair takes place for the season, immediately the construction work and the other parts also will also start at the same time,” indicating that while the repair is happening, construction is also happening concurrently.
“The contractor to whom the work is allotted is expected to start work very soon,” the chief minister said, reminding that the first package had also already been assigned.
“Both manpower and machinery have been mobilised by the contractor. Additionally, we anticipate that additional labour and equipment will be mobilised during the next ten days, so that this section—which covers the first sector from Umshyrpi towards Upper Shillong and beyond—should begin operating very soon,” he said.
He explained that the purpose of Wednesday’s meeting was to make sure that the repairs that needed to be done were made because some sections were badly damaged and had not been fixed.
“The second section discusses the various packages that the contractors have been given. We want them to mobilise and begin working as soon as possible,” he continued. When asked which package is most important, he responded, “All are equally important, but have different challenges. We initially encountered difficulties in a few locations due to utility shifting. We faced difficulties in certain areas as a result of the land acquisition problem. We experienced issues in certain areas due to heavy traffic and other regional difficulties.”
“Therefore, we want to make sure that NHIDCL and the contractors take their work seriously. All four packages are important and should be completed on time. We won’t stop until we get our way,” he added.