WILLIAMNAGAR, Sept 15 - Student and other organisations based here have served an ultimatum to the district administration to complete construction of a bridge on the outskirts of Williamnagar town in East Garo Hills district. The bridge has not been completed since the last ten years.
The ultimatum was served by the GSU, FAF, AIGU and ICFS, which threatened to launch an agitation if their demand for the completion of works on the Rongap bridge at Baiza was not met by September 28. A memorandum to this effect was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner (in-charge) of East Garo Hills, SK Marak.
�The bridge has remained in the same state of construction for close to a decade. Major works were completed several years back. But there has been no progress since,� said AIGU general secretary TD Shira.
According to local residents, after close to a decade of inactivity, earth filling for one section of the bridge began last year. The bridge was sanctioned a long time back, they added.
Non-completion of the bridge has caused tremendous hardships to the local residents and the entire town stands the risk of being cut off from the rest of the Garo Hills if the temporary bridge collapses, the organisations said in the memorandum.
�We request the department concerned to complete the bridge within 15 days from the time of submission of this memorandum or we will be forced to launch an agitation,� the organisations warned.
These organisations have also decided to hold a meeting on the issue on September 28 if the work was not completed as per their demand.
The incomplete Rongap bridge here is also a reminder to the fact that the other bridge � Simsang � in Williamnagar was completed after 33 long years. The Simsang bridge was opened to the public only a few years back though the construction works had begun in the 1980s.
Dilapidated road: Concerned over the poor condition of the Samgong-Damagre Road in Williamnagar, the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), Williamnagar, has sought immediate repair of the road for the benefit of school- and college-going children.
The PWD road links Nengkhra through the District Jail, Loyola College and Ferrando School.
�The road is in the worst possible condition and with rains, it has become unnavigable. All transportation through the road has been disrupted and school- and college-going children are facing tremendous hardships due to this,� said the general secretary of FKJGP, Williamnagar, B Marak.
According to local residents, buses plying on the route skid off as rainfall has rendered the road slushy. The PWD needs to take responsibility and start repair works immediately,� Marak added.
