Shillong, October 5: Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of PWD (Roads) Prestone Tynsong on Monday hit back at VPP chief Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit over criticism following the death of an infant allegedly linked to the lack of road connectivity in Domkyrkoh village under Rambrai area.
Clarifying the situation, Tynsong said Domkyrkoh had never had a road since Meghalaya attained statehood, stressing that the issue was not the poor condition of an existing road but the complete absence of one.
“This is in Rambrai. To briefly tell Bah Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit or those who are speaking against the incident, that village is one which never had a road. It is not that the condition of the road is bad, it is that there is no road at all,” Tynsong said.
He said the government has sanctioned Rs 25 crore for road connectivity in the area, with the proposed road planned to connect Rambrai with Nongnah.
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“In the last few months, I have laid the foundation stone to start the road from the middle of Rambrai, as the plan is to connect it till Nongnah. We have sanctioned Rs 25 crore, preliminary work order has already been issued. The contractor will make necessary preparations and construction will start,” he said.
Tynsong said the project is expected to benefit 8-9 villages that have remained without road connectivity since statehood.
On road connectivity across Meghalaya, he said considerable progress had been made since 2013, while acknowledging that several areas still require better connectivity.
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“Some villages which were totally unconnected are now being connected, and some villages which had roads but were more or less like jungle roads, that also we have done. I don’t say 100 percent has been done; more needs to be done,” he said.
He added that the government’s target is to ensure that every habitation in the state is connected by road.
