SHILLONG/ NONGPOH, April 19: The state government will take necessary action based on the report being prepared by IIT Guwahati on the safety of the Umiam bridge, informed Chairman-cum-MD of MeECL, Sanjay Goyal.
The IIT-G has conducted one study on the bridge and and is taking another study. Once it is submitted the government will act on the institute’s suggestions, he added.
It may be noted here that questions have been raised time and again on the safety of the Umiam bridge, which connects Shillong with the rest of the country.
Meanwhile, in Ri-Bhoi, the headmen of nine villages located along the downstream of Umiam river have formed the Umiam Hazard Area Collective Forum to demand action from the state government on the supposedly precarious condition of the Umiam bridge. A safety audit of the bridge, commissioned in 1965, has shown that it has surpassed its lifespan, but the government has failed to take any serious step to address the issue.
The forum was formed after a meeting of the headmen at Mynsain village, led by lawyer Lamang Manik Syiem as the Legal Adviser of the forum and Hilary Shadap, headman of Umtngam, as the general secretary.
According to Shadap, the forum was created due to the state government’s inaction, which could endanger the lives of villagers in more than 20 villages located along the Umiam river. Many of these villagers rely on agriculture for their livelihood.
Shadap criticised the government for discussing the matter in the Assembly and not taking any action. He stated that the government has only been concerned about the safety of people who travel on the bridge but not the lives of those who live downstream of the Umiam river.
He also pointed out that for decades, farmers, who rely on agriculture, have suffered significant losses due to the damage to crops caused by water released from the Umiam reservoir. However, the government — neither the Disaster Management department nor the MeECL — has allegedly not provided any compensation for the losses.
Shadap emphasised that the forum is not seeking compensation but immediate action to construct a new bridge for the welfare of the people living along the downstream of the Umiam river.
