Williamnagar, April 4: It was a moment of joy and celebration as a bridge, under construction for more than 30 years, was inaugurated today by Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma, in the presence of social welfare minister Deborah Marak and PWD minister S. Dhar here.
The bridge connects Williamnagar to nearly 52 villages on the southern bank of the Simsang, the longest river in Garo hills, and connect Williamnagar to Chokpot in South Garo Hills district. Chokpot is about 45km from Williamnagar.
After inaugurating the bridge, Mukul laid the foundation stone for construction of a road to Chokpot.
The 203-metre-long RCC bridge, built at an estimated cost of about Rs 12 crore, is dubbed by the PWD as one of the longest bridges constructed after the state was carved out of Assam in 1971.
In 1986, when construction began, the budget was Rs 1.65 crore which had to be revised as the bridge under construction collapsed several times. Over the years, the contractors who were assigned the work refused to go ahead. The PWD and its team of officials handled the final construction of the bridge.
The bridge had become an eyesore for the people of this town who had time and again raised a demand for its completion. In the absence of the bridge, development work on the other side was immensely hampered as navigation was a difficult task.
In the 2013 Assembly elections, Congress candidate Marak, now minister for social welfare, veterinary and animal husbandry, promised the people that the bridge would be completed.
"It was one of my main election agenda, as the bridge had become an eyesore. I was a student when its foundation was laid. Construction could not be completed for one reason or the other," she told this correspondent.
Marak, appreciating the PWD and its officials who had tirelessly worked to fructify the project, said: "The bridge will usher in an era of growth and end the hardship of the people who are blessed with rich agricultural produce."
Speaking on the occasion, an elated Mukul Sangma said: "It is a moment of celebration. The construction of the bridge was delayed for several hurdles. We had to revise the estimates and gear up the PWD. We have gone out of the way to complete the project."
The chief minister hoped that the bridge would accelerate development in the southern bank of the river where people have to face hardship. He said the road to Chokpot would be completed in two phases. Mukul appealed to the people to take up construction of road under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme at their respective villages. He said the objective of the government is to make all roads in the state "all-weather roads".
The approach leading to the bridge at Warima locality from Williamnagar market is almost complete. An official said the department would accelerate work, so that the town gets a facelift.
Floresh N. Marak, an elderly woman who lives adjacent to the bridge at Asiragre, said: "I was young and my eldest daughter was just 16. Today, she is a mother of four children. I am 85 now. I feel happy that the bridge has been finally completed".