Chokpot: Meghalaya, and the district of South Garo Hills, in particular, is not famed for their roads. But a visit to Chokpot village shows that even in a district where good roads are a luxury, some regions fare much worse than others.
Chokpot is a village in South Garo Hills (SGH) and a constituency currently represented by Lazarus Sangma, an MLA from the Trinamool Congress. The constituency had over 25,000 voters in 2018.
The distance between Chokpot and Tura in West Garo Hills (WGH) is a mere 52 kilometres, and given the road conditions, it is likely to take you over two hours to get there. The first 19 kilometres come under NH-51, which is under construction till Nokatgre.
The first 13 kilometres are bumpy, and the road has barely any tar. After this stretch, about 20 kilometres of road are currently under repair. The project, according to the contractor, was sanctioned in 2014. It remains incomplete.
“Initially, the problem was militancy, as no one dared to work on the road. If we did, we were either extorted for money or worse, killed. After militancy ended in the state, there was the problem of cost escalation, and we had no extra funds. We have somehow managed to finish most of the sections and only a few kilometres remain,” informed the contractor.
To make matters worse, the entire stretch of road has no provision for drainage. The earlier sections completed by the same contractor now resemble the first 13 kilometres of the same road.
“Only a few kilometres are taken up each year, and that too, without drainage. By the time the contractor gets on to the next section, the previous stretch is destroyed. This has been an ongoing saga for decades and by numerous contractors. We have never had a fully functional road, to begin with,” lamented a shopkeeper from Deku en route to Chokpot.
While the drive from Nokatgre to Chokpot, about 33 kilometres away, is sure to rattle one’s bones, it is still better than other sections of the road.
At Chokpot, the frustration of the people about the situation is palpable. The frustration has now turned to resignation as they believe that no matter who rules the state, they will continue to suffer.
According to the villagers, the route from Chokpot to Sibbari in the same district is an even bigger nightmare. The road connects to the district headquarters of Baghmara and is an important route for them. It is a mere 28 kilometres from the village but requires at least three hours to cover the distance.
The construction of this road was undertaken by CCL Pvt Limited, which during the time of the previous political regime, secured many road work contracts and most of which remain either incomplete or in shambles after completion. CCL is the company that introduced ‘German technology’ to Meghalaya and is responsible for most rural roads that have been constructed, lying in shambles.
The Adokgre–Rongjeng road lies incomplete, the Mendipathar–Resubelpara road is in shambles just three months after its completion, and the Mendipathar–Songsak road is barely motorable.
The construction of the Chokpot–Sibbari road began in early 2018, and at the time of filing this report, not even the metalling of the road has been completed in most sections. During a recent visit, six labourers and one person in charge were seen trying to construct the road.
An employee of CCL, who was present at the scene, did not offer a reason for the delay in the construction. Other authorities remained unavailable for comment.
“At this rate, they will require at least a hundred years. They only have two heavy machines that are being used. How is this fair and what has the government been doing? There seems to be a complete lack of coordination in the way Chokpot is represented,” said Abraham Marak, a local from Chokpot.
He also informed that the matter has been raised many times by NGOs in Chokpot but nothing has been done to give the people any confidence that a quality road will ever be a part of Chokpot in decades to come.
“We have faced tremendous hardships due to the road. It has always remained in this permanent state of dilapidation. I remember even as a kid that the condition of this road was the same,” said a local from Rongrokgre, who added that he turned 37 a few days ago.
The road from Rongrokgre to Gasuapara is the stuff of nightmares. This road has not been touched for close to 50 years, claim locals. It has remained a ‘kuccha’ road since Meghalaya attained statehood. This road connects over 30 villages to Gasuapara, about 32 kilometres away.
The road in question has always remained a ‘kuccha’ one since Meghalaya attained statehood, even though it connects over 30 villages to Gasuapara about 32 km away.
“The road can only be used for 4 months every year and that too by four-wheel-drive vehicles. There are schools and villages on the route, most of which can only be traversed by two-wheelers, with extreme caution. Cars or commercial vehicles cannot access the route during the rainy seasons. This has led to hardships beyond anyone other than those affected, to understand,” said a villager from Rongrok.
The residents of these villages, all of who base their livelihoods on agriculture (food and cash crops), have been begging for someone to notice their plight.
“We cannot sell our produce as vehicles are not able to come to our villages. It is not possible to physically carry such loads. While we have been blessed with good crop yield, most of it has to be either used locally or stored until the road is navigable,” said another villager.
Many villagers who have bought cars, leave them at the three-way point in Rongrok.
“We can hardly use our cars for most parts of the year so we leave it there for us to travel further ahead when required. The car is useless to us the rest of the time,” informed another villager.
When contacted on the situation in his constituency, MLA Lazarus Sangma lamented the lack of support from the government to better the state of the people in his constituency.
“Time and again I have raised this matter with the government but despite the grave situation, the matter has not been taken up. The development of the people of my constituency also means the development of the state. It cannot be held on party lines,” said Sangma.
A woman shop-owner in Chokpot bazaar perhaps best summed up the underdevelopment in her region.
“Our constituency has had the bad luck of always sending our MLAs to the Opposition. This history has not changed and it shows in the lack of importance the state has shown to us,” she said.
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