By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In what may be termed as retaliation to Chief Secretary WMS Pariat’s comments that the Government would have the final say on whether the four laning would pass through the Umsning bypass or the existing road at Umsning, the Joint Action Committee (JAC), a conglomerate of Ri-Bhoi NGOs has asked the State Government to conduct a public hearing at Umsning to gauge the people’s mood over the four laning project. “Let the Government hold a public hearing whereby it would be able to understand whether people of the district want the road from the existing road or from Umsning Bypass,” JAC member and KSU North Khasi Hills president Donkupar Sumer told The Shillong Times over phone on Tuesday.
Reacting to the Government’s latest decision to construct the four laning on the existing road at Umsning and the support meted out by the Ri-Bhoi Students’ Union (RBSU), Sumer said that the RBSU was a seasoned organisation, while adding that people of Ri-Bhoi district do not accept the Students’ union as one of the NGOs of the district.
According to the JAC, they were ready for discussions provided the Government kept an open mind to discuss and resolve the issue for the greater interest of the people.
The construction work of the 61.8-km-long four lane road, sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs 536 crore, started at a brisk pace last year but it has hit a roadblock following protests by different organisations.
