PHULBARI, June 9: In a telling example of the continued neglect of development in the plains belt of Garo Hills, a section of the Agia-Medhipara-Phulbari-Tura (AMPT) road has once again caved in and returned to its earlier sorry condition just 15 days after being repaired at a cost of over Rs 9 crore.
According to local residents, repair work on the stretch from Shyamding locality in Phulbari town to Rajabala was taken up by Midas Constructions, a Guwahati-based company, with work beginning in January this year. The nearly 18-km stretch was hurriedly completed by February, but started deteriorating within 15 days of completion.
While the current 5-km stretch between Shyamding and Nayagaon remains traversable, though with damage in several places, the road beyond Nayagaon is in an extremely poor condition.
Beyond Nayagaon, nearly every part of the road has been damaged to such an extent that residents said it is now as bad as it was before the repair work began.
“What can we say? This is the lifeline of the people of the plain belt and connects residents of Assam and Meghalaya. Lakhs of people in both states depend on this road. It links Agia in Assam with Tura, and everything in the plain belt revolves around this road. Yet this is the condition it has been reduced to,” said New Bhaitbari resident and social activist Mostapha Kabir.
Kabir said that after the repair work began failing, residents of the Rajabala constituency immediately surrounded local MLA Mizanur Rahman Kazi and demanded answers. The MLA then contacted the relevant departments and called for a joint survey of the road and the quality of the repair work.
“The repair was absolutely substandard and wore off even before the rains set in. We were really surprised during the visit and demanded answers from the contractor,” Kabir added.
A joint inspection was carried out by the chief engineer, the local MLA and PWD officials from the region. They reportedly agreed that the road had to be repaired again.
“Everyone agreed that the contractor had to redo the repair because it was substandard. The contractor agreed and has promised to begin repairs in a day or two. We hope this time they take the matter seriously and that we do not have to face a similar situation again,” Kazi said when contacted.
At present, the road has developed massive potholes in most stretches, some of them said to be as large as swimming pools. It reportedly takes at least 50 minutes to cover the 12-13 km between Nayagaon and Rajabala, even for experienced drivers.
“Our plain has always been neglected, and the complete disregard shown by the contractor, who has wasted over Rs 9 crore of public money, is proof of that neglect. This is unforgivable, and the contractor must be held accountable for the mess created,” Kabir added.
