Resubelpara, Aug 20: Residents of North Garo Hills (NGH) can now breathe a sigh of relief after the newly constructed road between the villages of Damra in Assam and Bajengdoba in Meghalaya has literally cut down travel time by about half.
The road, which is almost complete barring a few approach bridges has been constructed by the Badri Rai and Company (BRC) and going by the way it has been done, is expected to last much longer than previous versions of the same road, most of which came off almost immediately after it was laid.
The total distance of the road stands at 36 kms and has been built at a cost of over Rs 78 crores, excluding the bridges.
“The road was a nightmare to travel on with huge potholes literally no tar in its entirety. We used to take close to 1.5 hours to get from Damra to Bajengdoba if you could bear through. Being hilly, it was extremely difficult to traverse but that is now a thing of the past. Most of us can do the stretch in about 45-50 minutes. We just hope the contractor has not compromised on quality and we are able to use the road for at least a few years,” said North Garo Hills (NGH) resident, MG Momin.
The Damra – Bajengdoba road was started in the year 2020 and initial teething problems began immediately after the contractor began to work on it.
“Unlike Khasi – Jainita Hills, Garo Hills does not have enough raw materials on site that can be used to build the road (sand gravel, stones). This means that procurement of materials becomes a huge issue to start any project. We struggled with this for the first year and a half before being able to set up a quarry from where our materials were managed,” informed a company source.
There was an initial delay as the company tried to work out what needed to be done which led to many questioning the motive of the company and by extension the state government.
“Once we were able to get our set up right, we did the road to the best of our ability and the results are showing. The road has already been through one monsoon without even one crack on it and this is testimony to our commitment to quality. Barring natural disasters, we are hopeful the road will last a long time and provide a pleasurable experience to travellers,” added the source.
The formal handover of the road is expected to be completed soon, said BRC sources.