From Our Correspondent
belt of Garo Hills affected by flood.
PHULBARI, July 12: Newly elected Tura MP, Saleng Sangma on Friday visited the flood-affected plain belt along with former MLAs, SG Esmatur Mominin, Brigady Marak and Ferlin CA Sangma and various line departments to assess the situation on the ground as well as listen to testimonials of local residents on the perennial flood situation.
Sangma, during his visit, hit out at the current NPP-led dispensation accusing them of not caring for the people of the plain-belt despite the area being affected every year.
“Flood is taking place every year and every year we have ministers coming as well as the CM. Rs 8000 crores was provided to various states but we were given nil. We don’t have any proposals every year. What are they going to give the people of the plain belt, 2 kgs of rice? Why is there not even a single proposal? Since you have elected us (Cong) we will see what we can do. This is our first move that we will undertake. It seems from the action of the government that there are no floods in the state of Meghalaya though ground reality is different. We will send across the message to the centre that we are being faced with this annually,” said Saleng to residents during his visit.
Speaking after his visit to a gathering of people from the plain belt, Saleng assured that he would work with various central departments to alleviate the problems of the people.
“I was told by Mominin (former Phulbari MLA) of the flood situation and asked to pay a visit. As I was busy then, I could not come but I made it a point to ensure that I come here to check. Before I came here, I visited departments in Delhi to understand where Meghalaya stood in terms of flood containment measures but was surprised that no proposals for flood control or management were made by the state in the last year and before,” said Saleng.
Saleng informed that last year more than Rs 8,000 crore were provided by the centre to various states, which included Assam (Rs 100 crore), Arunachal (Rs 23 crore) among others.
“We were provided nothing for flood management and control and going by the fact that there were no proposals sent by the state, it seems there are no floods at all in our state. This is contrary to what is witnessed every year by people of the plain belt,” he informed.
Saleng assured those that came to meet him, of working on a solution that would also include the state government to find a permanent solution. “We cannot stop the impact of floods but can definitely work on managing the situation better through measures. I brought the various line departments with me during the visit to see if we can work out ways to mitigate the crisis that is faced by you every year,” he informed.
A letter by residents of Chibinang was also provided to the MP over the ongoing erosion of the banks of the Rongai River due to an iron structure placed in the middle of the river as well as the incomplete dam project that has remained in limbo over ages.
Residents have sought either the completion of the project or the demolition of the structure completely to allow for the normal flow of the river, which could in many ways even mitigate the flood crisis.