Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma reviewed the worst-hit South Garo Hills District

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jun 21, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma will meet with the deceased's family. He'll travel by boat from Karukol to Siju, which will take at least 2.5 hours, and then trek for 6 kilometres to reach the Siju and Rongsa Awe families.

Digital Desk: Meghalaya Chief Minister
Conrad K. Sangma visited the worst-affected South Garo Hills district on
Tuesday, where road connectivity has been entirely cut off for the past four days,
affecting nearly 40,000 people.

Multiple
landslides have occurred in the South Garo Hills, which run along the
India-Bangladesh border, leaving numerous areas such as Maheskola and Siju
without access to the outside world.

In
the district, at least six bridges, including suspension and timber bridges,
have been washed away, and cell and energy service have been disrupted.
Baghmara town, Karukol, Rongsa Awe, Siju, Rongara, Gasuapara, and Chokpot,
among other villages, have lost electricity.

During
the review meeting, officials notified the Chief Minister that repair work is
now ongoing. The Indian Air Force airlifted crucial items to Siju and Maheskola
late Tuesday afternoon.

Eight
people have died in landslides in Bolsalgre, Siju, and Rongsa Awe, one of whom
is a four-year-old child, while two people are still missing in Rongsa Awe.

Chief
Minister Conrad K. Sangma will meet with the deceased's family. He'll travel by
boat from Karukol to Siju, which will take at least 2.5 hours, and then trek
for 6 kilometres to reach the Siju and Rongsa Awe families.

During
the Chief Minister's visit, an ex-gratia payment of Rs. 4 lakh would be made to
each family member who has died.

Siju,
Emangre, Jadi, Nongalbibra, Karukol, Maheskola, Kalu, Kanai, Bonbera, and
Rongru Asim are among the 30 villages shut off from Baghmara's district
headquarters. The Chief Minister has ordered that the repair of roads and
electricity be continued.

Officials
have stated that road connectivity along NH-62 will be restored in the next 2-3
days for light motor vehicles, but that it will take at least 20–25 days for
roads to be restored for heavy vehicular movement.

Earlier
in the day, the Chief Minister paid a visit to the damaged villages in West
Garo Hills' Dalu block and discussed the issue with district officials. At
least five wooden bridges in the Dalu area have been broken, impeding contact
in numerous villages and causing soil erosion in settlements along the Balka
river.