West Garo Hills (Meghalaya) [India], September 12 (ANI): Reinforcing its commitment to strengthening connectivity and expanding development opportunities across the region, the Meghalaya Government on Friday unveiled a series of key projects in Tikrikilla, with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma inaugurating major tourism and economic infrastructure and laying the foundation stones for connectivity projects in the region.
According to a release, the projects were unveiled in the presence of Limison D Sangma, Deputy Speaker, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly; Timothy D Shira, Minister I/c Tourism Department; and Jimmy D Sangma, MLA, Tikrikilla, besides senior government officials, members of the GHADC and other dignitaries.
CM Sangma said that connectivity remained central to the Government’s development agenda, particularly in remote and interior areas of the state.
He said, "Tikrikilla may be at the corner of Meghalaya, but every place is important to this Government. From Mawkyrwat to Dawki and Tikrikilla, our focus is to ensure that the farthest and remotest areas are never left behind. Today, these places are being visited, development is being planned, and connectivity and infrastructure are being taken forward."
The Chief Minister highlighted the Rs 3,500 crore Phulbari bridge, which, once completed, will be the longest bridge in the Northeast and is expected to strengthen movement into and out of the region.
He also spoke of the proposed NH-217 corridor connecting Dalu, Baghmara and Ranikor and extending towards the border, which is being proposed to the Government of India along with an economic and defence corridor.
He urged people to look ahead and prepare themselves to take advantage of the economic opportunities that improved connectivity would bring to the region.
At Jangrapara, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the construction of RCC Bridge over the Didak River on the Tikrikilla-Jangrapara Road, at a sanctioned amount of Rs 7.47 crore. While laying the foundation stone, he stated that the Government has placed connectivity at the centre of its development efforts, with more than 3,500 km of roads constructed across Meghalaya over the past eight years, the release said.
“This means that, on average, around 1.1 km of road has been constructed every day, and we have seen how improved connectivity is changing the way our people access markets, services and opportunities,” he said.
He said that this scale of road construction was not witnessed in the last 20 years.
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone for a suspension footbridge over the Didak River at Photamati, Tikrikilla, providing an important pedestrian connection for communities in the area.
The development push is being complemented by investments in tourism infrastructure.
The Chief Minister inaugurated the new Tourism Guest House, Nagargaon, Tikrikilla, built at a cost of Rs. 1.31 crore, adding accommodation capacity that can support visitors as tourism activity in the region grows. At the same time, the foundation stone for a New Tourism Guest House at Raksamgre was also laid.
The Meghalaya Chief Minister earlier inaugurated the Megha Agro Gold at Tikrikilla, an areca-nut processing unit, reinforcing the Government’s focus on creating opportunities, not only around increasing agricultural production, but value addition through further processing enterprise, the release said.
Limison D Sangma said that under the leadership of CM Sangma, major connectivity projects have been sanctioned for Raksamgre, including the RCC bridge and suspension footbridge over the Didak River.
He said the projects would ease the difficulties faced by people, while tourism initiatives and Megha Agro Gold would open up new opportunities for farmers, youth and local communities.
Timothy D Shira said that the Government is continuously expanding tourism infrastructure across the State, including in the Garo Hills, to create new opportunities for local communities and youth.
He highlighted the importance of improved connectivity in unlocking these opportunities and pointed to initiatives such as CM-Elevate, FOCUS+ and CM-FARM that are supporting people across sectors. (ANI)
West Garo Hills get major development push as Meghalaya strengthens connectivity, tourism and local opportunities in Tikrikilla
