Border Areas Development Officer Sohra: Border Areas Development Department, Government of Meghalaya

BADO Sohra

CC FOOTSTEPS AT PYNDEMDKHAR

Name of the Scheme: Concrete cement Footsteps at Pyndemdkhar

Amount Sanctioned: Rs. 8.00 lacs

Years of Schemes: SCA(BADP)2019-20.

Pyndemdkhar is one of the villages which lies in the remote and deep interior part of the Sohra block. It is still not yet connected by road, and so, people have to use the very narrow, small and steep footsteps in order to reach the road head at Mawlakhiat which is at a walking distance of approximately 50 minutes.

The Border Areas Development department had extended financial help to the village council for the construction of the CC footsteps/footbridge for the major portion of this particular spot under Border Area Development Programme during the year 2018-19 (@ Rs. 20.00 lakh), and the remaining portion was finally completed under BADP 2019-20 (@ Rs. 8.00 lakhs). Now, the said footsteps at the said spot become easy and safe and the grade is very much users friendly.

As the construction work was carried out by the village council itself, so the villagers weregiven employment opportunity during construction, and on top of that, the same induces in them a sense of ownership of the asset. The work was satisfactorily completed and handed over to the beneficiary. Since then, the village has been witnessing the flow of tourists trekking down to Nongriat tourist spots through the route. This, in turn, is creating employment opportunity to the villagers .

Suspension Footbridge At Laitiam Village

Name of the Scheme: Suspension Footbridge At Laitiam Village

Amount Sanctioned: Rs. 15.00 lacs

Years of Schemes: SCA (BADP) 2019-20

Laitiam has a few number of infrastructural gaps with regards to connectivity. This
is due to the very fact that the village lies in the southern terrain of the block sloping towards the Bangladesh border.

The village council kept airing their problem to the office regarding the issue they
used to face in crossing the Umtiang river during rainy seasons as the temporary bamboo bridge which they had built over the river did not serve the purpose due to the rise in the water level. It was until the office of the Border Areas Development Officer, Sohra, received allocation under BADP during 2019-20 (additional schemes), that the Suspension Footbridge over the river that they had been dreaming of could be actually erected.

The local labourers were fully engaged for the construction work under the continued supervision of the office of the Border Areas Development Officer, Sohra. There was a rise in the price of the building materials, and besides that, expenditure had also been incurred for the head load of the building materials to the site, however, with the extra effort put in by the beneficiary, the work was duly and satisfactorily completed with the meager sanctioned amount of Rs. 15.00 lakhs. The project was then handed over to the Village Council for its upkeep.

The new bridge will continue to serve the public of the villages on both sides of Umtiang river, trekkers, and especially the farmers of Laitiam who have their fields across the river.

Suspension Footbridge Connecting Tyniar And Wahsohra

Name of the Scheme: Suspension Footbridge Connecting Tyniar And Wahsohra

Amount Sanctioned: Rs. 20.00 lacs

Years of Schemes: SCA(BADP)2019-20.

Wahsohra and Tyniar are two nearby villages under Sohra block, situating around 1.50 kilometres away from each other. These two villages lie in the deep interior of the block and do not yet have road connectivity. The same are inter-connected by traditional pathway with Wahsohra river of around 40 metres span lying in between them. The main occupation of the people here mainly consists of broom stick cultivation, and horticulture. A couple of years back, the government had taken a good initiative in connecting the above villages by replacing the traditional bamboo bridge with a suspension footbridge over the above river. The said suspension footbridge had been rendering a great service to the beneficiaries all these past years while still in good condition. However, with the passage of time, the same eventually became worn out with its parts being rusted and decayed. This had created great inconvenience to the general public who dared not using the bridge especially with load on their back forget about rainy seasons when the water level used to rise high.

In the midst of such a critical situation, the villagers were given a relief with the department’s intervention. Making use of the fund received under the additional schemes of the Border Area Development Programme during the Financial Year 2019-20, sanction was made for the construction of a new suspension footbridge over the river. Local labourers were engaged in the construction work under the continued technical supervision of the office of the Border Areas Development Office, Sohra. The work was duly and satisfactorily completed and also handed over to the Wahsohra village council.

The completed project gives an assurance to the general public in the remote areas of the border area like Wahsohra, Tyniar, Nongtraw, Diengsong, etc of the government’s care for the people’s need in the remote rural areas. The project provided employment to the local people during its construction. However, the main beneficiaries are the commuters consisting of the students, farmers, villagers, tourists, etc who can now plan their journey across the river even during rainy seasons, and same is the case with the voters from Tyniar village who have to trek down and cast their votes at Wahsohra Polling Station.