From Our Correspondent
NONGPOH, Nov 13: Leaders from Umdap, under the Joint Action Committee, Umdap Area Development Organisation (JAC-UADO), honoured Bindas Syiem on Wednesday for her lone protest in front of the Additional Secretariat in Shillong, demanding urgent repairs for the Nongpoh-Umden and Umden-Byrnihat roads, in recent months.
The ceremony, hosted by JAC-UADO at Pahammawlein’s Community Hall, celebrated Bindas Syiem following the central government’s recent tender announcement for constructing the 38-km Lumnongrim Byrnihat-Umden road, with an allocation of Rs 47.2 crore through PMGSY scheme.
The event was attended by several notable figures, including JAC-UADO Chairman Lawrence Nongrum, former KHADC Chief Executive Member (CEM) CB Syiem, Nongpoh Block Congress Committee president SW Mallai, Confederation of Ri Bhoi People’s president Bandari Ryntathiang, and other community leaders and residents.
Speakers at the event lauded Bindas Syiem’s courage and her willingness to fight for the people’s welfare, particularly those suffering due to the severely deteriorated condition of the roads connecting Nongpoh to Umden and Byrnihat to Umden. The government’s budget allocation for this road project, they highlighted, is a significant victory attributed to her activism, with hopes for swift approval of funding to restore the Nongpoh-Umden road, which has been neglected for decades.
In her remarks, Bindas Syiem revealed that two particular road segments — Umden-Nongpoh and Umden-Byrnihat — spurred her to stage her protest in Shillong. She shared that her actions were motivated not by personal gain but by the community’s hardship due to long-standing infrastructure issues.
Syiem expressed gratitude to everyone who supported her during her protest in Shillong, including individuals, various organisations, and community members who stood by her and encouraged her in her fight for the common good.