Conrad becomes first CM in 50 years to visit remote Mawhati

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday, November 6, became the first Meghalaya chief minister in more than 50 years to visit the remote Mawhati area of Ri-Bhoi district, about 60 km from Shillong.

He attended a CM Connect programme at Amjong, opened three rural roads and launched livelihood projects. Mawhati MLA and government adviser Charles Marngar and district officials were present, Hub News reported. Sangma called the visit historic and said the government wanted to reach communities that have long had poor connectivity.

Three new roads

The three stretches, built under Phase III of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY-III), total 44.63 km. They are the 20.50-km Mawlasnai-Kdohhati road, the 16.125-km UJ Road-Lymphuid road and the 8-km UJ Road-Pamlathar road.

Hub News and Syllad said the roads were sanctioned at Rs 36 crore. The Times of India put the sanctioned cost at Rs 9.60 crore. The reports agree on the length and the three alignments. Hub News said the roads are meant to give all-weather access to 12 habitations and 6,076 people, going by the 2011 Census; Syllad put the population served at around 7,000.

Hub News also gave a statewide snapshot of PMGSY in Meghalaya: 1,214 of 1,311 sanctioned roads have been finished, covering 5,406 km of 5,933 km, or 91 per cent of the sanctioned length, and 597 of 600 eligible habitations have been connected.

Healthcare and grievances

At Amjong, Sangma was told that Mawhati Primary Health Centre, which serves 42 villages with a combined population of 26,429, still needs a regular medical officer, The Times of India and Syllad reported.

Syllad said that of 785 CM Connect complaints registered in Ri-Bhoi, 552 had been resolved by October 31 and 233 were still open, including 176 pending for more than 90 days. Power-related complaints were the largest group, with 267 of 287 resolved. All five grievances listed from Mawhati (Ja-I), about MGNREGA wages, scholarships and village schemes, were still pending and are to be reviewed with the block and district administrations.

Livelihood projects

Sangma distributed Rs 2 crore among 120 self-help groups, The Times of India and Syllad reported. Syllad said Ri-Bhoi has 5,207 such groups covering 48,401 households, and that 4,988 groups have taken bank loans totalling Rs 88.69 crore.

He also opened the DA-I-HI textile unit at Sohnidan, run by Preciously Shadap under the CM-ELEVATE sericulture and weaving scheme. The unit has been given looms and a weather-proof workspace and employs 15 people a day, Hub News and Syllad reported. Vehicles under the Ajeevika Grameen Express Yojana were handed over at Sohnidan and Amjong. Hub News said he also inaugurated the U Maw Mawlasnai monolith. Syllad reported that six mothers from the Amjong Health and Wellness Centre area received Mother and Baby Care Kits under the Mission 1000 Days programme.

Over the past eight years, the government said, 217 development projects worth Rs 3,126.40 crore have been sanctioned in Ri-Bhoi. Of these, 66 projects worth Rs 820.13 crore have been completed, 96 worth Rs 1,730.58 crore are under way and 55 worth Rs 575.69 crore are in the pipeline, Syllad reported.