The landslides along the National Highway – 62 that connects Siju, Karukol, and Baghmara from East Garo Hills and Assam has remained completely cut off for the past six days.
The restoration work has begun but going by the intensity of the damages, it will take some time before the road is open.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma inspected the road on Wednesday by taking a country boat for about 2 hours to reach Siju and then trekking for close to three hours to reach Rongdong.
A press statement said that the Chief Minister was shocked to witness the ‘unimaginable’ damages that have made the roads look like big streams in almost 12 different portions of the road in a stretch of 7-8 km. Small streams were converted to massive streams with huge boulders along the damaged roads.
During the inspection officials informed the Chief Minister that restoration works are on but considering the massive damages to the roads, it will pose a challenge for them.
Siju, a tourist location that is known for bat caves, has also been damaged.
Though there is no damage to the caves, all the tourism amenities have been destroyed. Adjoining houses to the caves have been damaged. A young woman lost her life in a landslide near Siju cave, leaving behind her 4-year-old son and husband, who luckily managed to escape.
The Chief Minister handed over an ex-gratia of 4 lakh to her family at Siju and later visited Siju PHC, where four seriously injured are undergoing treatment.
Leave a Comment