Year in review: Infra in Garo Hills gets mild fillip, SGH awaits succour

TURA, Dec 31: Infrastructure across the entire Garo Hills got a much needed fillip through the year though in many parts especially in South Garo Hills (SGH) people continued to look up to the heavens in hope that someone will look at their plight and help alleviate their situation.
Let’s look at the situation of road infrastructure in the various districts of Garo Hills to see what progress was made this year beginning with the worst – SGH.
South Garo Hills
The worst district in terms of road infrastructure continued to reel under pathetic conditions in all major roads of the district with the sole exception being the yet to be completed Baghmara – Ranikor road which has actually cut down travel time from 4 hours to an almost unbelievable 2 hours. Other than this upcoming road, the entire district does not have even one road that eases the pain of commuters.
The main lifeline, NH-62 (NH 217 B) which runs through the entire district from Nongalbibra to near Dalu in West Garo Hills (WGH), has been in a state of deterioration over the past 3 decades at least. While cosmetic repairs are undertaken from time to time, it continues to be a traveller’s nightmare.
The worst part of the ordeal is that there is no word on when the highway will once be taken up by the NHIDCL though sources stated that land mapping had already been completed. With NHIDCL being skeptical of foraying deep into the state over land ownership issues, the problems of the people may take another few years to even be thought of.
Earlier, the state of the road had led to protests by civil society groups, which wanted either a complete overhaul of the road or the commissioning of highway work by the NHIDCL. The government, however, only provided a little over Rs 27 crore to repair the entire stretch of over 110 km that falls within the district.
Roads in the Chokpot area are even worse with travel times becoming extreme due to the poor nature of roads. A construction company, who were provided a major part of the road for construction has been cited as the major reason for the poor situation as almost a decade has passed but literally nothing has been done. Repairs on the Sangkini to Baromile section is currently under way and is expected to complete soon.
West Garo Hills
West Garo Hills, which is the largest part of the Garo Hills region, has also seen one project, the Tura-Dalu road being stuck in a limbo for various reasons. While work was commissioned in the year 2018, the almost-50-km road is far from complete. While land issues remain a part of the problem, however, even in sections where there are no problems, they remain incomplete. Earlier, the NHIDCL authorities had informed that a deadline until December of 2024 was provided to the contractor, though as to what steps will be taken against them remains to be seen.
Another section of the Tura-Rongram road is currently under construction and is expected to be completed soon.
Another major worry for residents of the district as well as those from Assam lies with the crucial AMPT road that connects Assam to Tura has seen plenty of complaints coming through, mainly due to the section from Nidanpur onwards being completely dilapidated. A major reason for the road being in the present state can to be put to the ongoing boulder trucks from Bhutan continuing export activities through the route.
Locals have continued to oppose these activities mainly due to these trucks violating export norms and coming with huge overloads and the impact it has on the road itself. A new constructed section of the same road had to be repaired once again due to these violations. While the distance between Nidanpur to Garobadha is only about 80 km, it takes almost 4 hours to travel through.
Currently the section from Nidanpur to Phulbari is being repaired. However, there is good news in the offing for residents of the plain belt as a new road (NH 127 B) has been sanctioned with work about to begin.
North Garo Hills
The major worry for residents of North Garo Hills, the road between Damra in Assam to Bajengdoba is now a thing of the past with the road being one of the easiest travel routes for residents. Further, the Soksan to Songsak road has also been nominally repaired this year and is easily traversable.
However, many interior roads are in pathetic conditions with travel being a major issue during monsoons.
South West Garo Hills
The main road for South West Garo Hills is the state road between Garobadha through Mahendraganj unto Dalu which had fallen into distress last year. Many sections are currently under repair. Meanwhile, many interior roads connecting various places to the district headquarter, Ampati, are also under construction, including the border road through Mahendraganj. Most of these fall under PMGSY.
East Garo Hills
The district with the best road infrastructure this year has got to be East Garo Hills which, barring one under construction major road between Asanang to Williamnagar, saw a settled scene. A huge number of projects are currently being undertaken under PMGSY to ensure last kilometer connectivity between villages and towns, including those on the other bank of the Simsang river.