Jorbeel: A road constructed at more than Rs 84 crore in Ri Bhoi District bordering Assam has been damaged within eight months, thanks to poor engineering and unregulated movement of overloaded dumpers.
The name of the road project is upgradation of 9th Mile (On East West Corridor in Assam) to Umsen via Killing Pillingkata road (29.872km) in Meghalaya-Assam inter-state road Meghalaya under the North East Road Sector Development Scheme (NERSDS).
Sanctioned by the Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region, the road was completed in February 2023. The sanctioned amount includes maintenance period for five years.
However within eight months, the road is in pathetic condition due to lack of proper draining, overflowing water, and frequent plying of overloaded dumpers ferrying boulders and stone chips.
The stretch of the road from Bara Killing to Umduba is in worst condition, and almost every day there are reports of vehicles getting stuck in the slushy mud and water.
“This road was completed this year. But, within few months, we have witnessed the pathetic condition of the road,” B. Sangma, a resident of Bara Killing said.
Unregulated earth cutting all along the road right from Bara Killing to Umduba has caused massive damage to the road.
Besides earth cutting, indiscriminate dumping of soil on the road side has also changed the course of streams that flow near the road.
Due to absence of drains, the condition of the road has further deteriorated when heavy rain occurs as rain water flows to the road and caused flash floods.
