TURA, April 21 - Despite the passage of five years, relief suppliers, who provided relief to thousands of people affected by natural calamities, are yet to get their dues cleared by the Meghalaya Government.
The suppliers from West Garo Hills had supplied relief materials since the devastating 2014 floods. While none of the suppliers was willing to come on print on the matter, they were hopeful that the government would look into the matter and release their dues at the earliest.
�It has been very difficult as most of our working capital has been invested in providing relief when the people were in dire need. We were requested by the State Government to help, but the wait for the money has been a long one and we still don�t know when we will be getting it,� said a wholesaler from Tura, requesting anonymity.
According to them, a part payment for the 2014 dues was made. Another part payment was made for the dues of 2017 floods in the plain belt of West Garo Hills.
Recently, taking stock of the situation faced by the suppliers, deputy commissioner of West Garo Hills, Ram Singh had appealed for release of the pending dues during the review meeting with the adviser to the government and North Tura MLA, Thomas Sangma. The meeting was held in connection with the massive storms that affected thousands of people across the region.
Dues running into crores of rupees are yet to be paid to the suppliers of flood and disaster relief in West Garo Hills region alone. The plain belt region in WGH has seen floods every year since 2014, except for 2018.
