SHILLONG, Sep 16: Congress MLA from Mawsynram, Himalaya Shangpliang, on Thursday petitioned the state government for upgrade of various roads that need immediate attention.
Moving a zero-hour notice during the Autumn Session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, Shangpliang made a reference to Mawphlang-Balat road, and said it needs to be upgraded from a single-lane blacktopped road to a standard two-lane road. “This will highly enhance the livelihood of the people and the socio-economic condition of the area. It will also provide the BSF personnel a much better surface connectivity with the international border,” Shangpliang said.
To this, Deputy Chief Minister in-charge (PWD), Prestone Tynsong, said that the government is au courant with the importance of the road as it connects the two districts of South West Khasi Hills and South Garo Hills. “We are seriously examining to upgrade this portion of the road starting from Mawphlang to Balat, if not double-lane then at least to an intermediate status. We know that this road is very critical for the economic activities of the entire region,” Tynsong said.
Shangpliang also asked the government to accord top priority for strengthening the existing 74-km road from Weiloi to Balat as it is the only road that connects the state capital to the international border and BSF camps.
He said this single-lane blacktopped state highway also connects the road towards South West Khasi Hills via Weiloi and Ranikor, and also towards South Garo Hills via Ranikor and Maheshkola.
Harking back to the recent past, the MLA informed that a portion of this road was recently washed away during cloudburst in the area, thereby disrupting communication with the rest of the border villages. He added that despite the two-week repair work, only light and medium vehicles are now permitted to pass through this road.
Stating that this road is strategically and economically important, he asked the government to revamp the road infrastructure.
In his reply, Tynsong informed that the downpour on August 14 had caused damage to the 60-km stretch, leading to the road being cut off. He added that the PWD then swung into action and constructed a temporary footbridge two days later to temporarily alleviate the problems faced by the pedestrians.
In view of the incessant rain between August 13 and 25, the pace of the temporary restoration work and construction of the subway road was delayed, he said, admitting that only light and medium vehicle carrying goods and passengers were allowed to ply on the subway road for the nonce.
“The plying of heavy vehicles is prohibited because of the permanent restoration work which is in progress,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
