With the flood situation turning dire, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday reviewed the worst-hit South Garo Hills district where road communication through National Highway-62 has been completely cut off for the past four days. More than 40,000 people have been affected.
Several landslides have occurred in the South Garo Hills along the Indo-Bangladesh border and many areas such as Maheskola and Siju remain without any road connectivity.
The Indian Air Force dropped essential food and relief material for the stranded villagers in Maheskola village late Tuesday afternoon. A total of eight people have lost their lives in landslides in Bolsalgre, Siju and Rongsa Ave, one of whom is a 4-year-old minor and two persons are still missing from Rongsa Ave.
At least six bridges, including suspension and wooden ones, have been washed away due to disruption of mobile and electricity connections in the district. Electricity lines were disrupted in Baghmara town, Karukol, Rongsa Ave, Siju, Rongara, Gasupara and Chokpot among other villages.
A total of 30 villages including Siju, Imangre, Jadi, Nongalbibra, Karukol, Maheskola, Kalu, Kanai, Bonbera, Rongru Asim have been cut from the district headquarters of Baghmara. The Chief Minister has directed the officials to continue the restoration of roads and electricity. Officials have said that road connectivity with NH-62 will be restored for light motor vehicles in the next 2-3 days and at least 20-25 days will be required to restore the roads for heavy vehicular movement .
Earlier in the day, the chief minister visited the affected areas under Dalu block in West Garo Hills and reviewed the situation with district officials. In the Dalu region, at least 5 wooden bridges have been damaged, disrupting communication in several villages, and soil erosion along the banks of the Balka river in the affected villages.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in the Meghalaya Assembly and the All India Trinamool (AITC) leader Dr Mukul Sangma along with other prominent leaders of Garo Hills visited South Garo Hills on Tuesday to take stock of the areas affected by floods and rains.
Meghalaya Trinamool Congress MLAs Mahendraganj, Dikanchi D Shira, MPTCC joint secretary Manik Das and TMC Mahendraganj youth leader Thonong D Shira also visited the flood-affected areas of Ulubari and Kalaigaon.
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