SHILLONG: A pressure group in Garo Hills has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in repairing and maintaining the decrepit National Highway 62.
In a letter to Modi, director of A’chik Indigenous Justice Initiative Forum (AIJIF), Alex K. Sangma stated that the highway, which passes through Assam and Meghalaya, is the lifeline of Garo Hills but poor maintenance has turned it into a nightmare.
“The most infamous of roads in the Garo Hills region, NH-62 gets its disrepute from the 23 wooden bridges in deplorable condition and stretches all the way from Jadigittim to Karongre in South Garo Hills. With countless potholes, un-navigable stretches and poor road condition; this national highway is any travellers’ nightmare,” the letter read.
The highway is 195 km of which 5 km lies in Assam and the rest in Meghalaya. It links Dudhnai in Assam’s Goalpara district and Karongre in South Garo Hills via Baghmara which lies along the international border between India and Bangladesh.
“The wooden bridges are being taken care of by the Coal Exporters’ Association in the absence of maintenance by authorities concerned,” the letter said.
The National Highway (Contd on P-10)
