Tura, Jan 27: Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma laid the foundation stone for the Greater Tura Urban Water Supply Scheme on Monday at a function held at District Auditorium, Tura.
The Scheme is a significant step in the Government’s mission to provide sufficient drinking water and accessible tap water to each and every household in the State of Meghalaya.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister lauded the efforts of the Minister incharge PHE, Principal Secretary, Officials of the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) for laying the foundation stone of this ambitious project and termed it as the ‘Red Letter day’ for the people of Tura. Mentioning that the project was conceptualized in the year 2004 with Lt P A Sangma, he said that looking at the problem of water scenario in Tura town the implementation of this project was necessary and by implementing this project the water reservoir can be constructed which along with drinking water would also become the tourism site, facilities for fishery department and also provide irrigation facilities for agricultural crops and other useful activities.
The Chief Minister informed that the project was to be implemented from 2018 but due to various constraints it could not be implemented but, now along with the support of Special Assistance on Capital Investment from the Central Government and finally the foundation stone is laid which is a project of about 400 crores and to be completed within 24 to 36 months. He also called upon the support and cooperation of the Nokmas of respective areas since when a reservoir is made few areas might be submerged and necessary action should be taken accordingly.
Mentioning that mere implementation of these schemes would not materialise without the support of the people of the area, the Chief Minister said that catchment areas need to be preserved and urged people living in the catchment areas to protect the water sources and work in collaboration with the officials of related departments and added that the agriculture and tourism department provides sustainable livelihood opportunities through KFW to the people and protect the forest cover of the area.
The Chief Minister announced that there will be no load shedding this year which has been discontinued since last year and added that the government is trying to stabilise the power and water supply in the State. He also informed that the foundation stone for the new Integrated Administrative Complex had been laid and the construction work for this project would start very soon in Tura which would provide all facilities to the people of the region.
Mentioning about the on-going development of IT Parks in Tura, he said that the project when completed would provide employment opportunities to the youth of the region and added that the long awaited Tura Baljek to Umroi flight is under process and other infrastructure development in the district.
Informing that the 2nd phase of Tura Beautification, Street Lighting would be implemented this year, the Chief Minister seeks the support of the people of Tura to maintain cleanliness, hospitality, etc. and said that everything depends of the people and urged them to take the initiative to make the locality and Tura town the best and liveable town in the country in future.
Addressing the gathering at the function, Minister incharge PHE, Marcuise Marak said that the scheme under the leadership of the Chief Minister is a landmark initiative in Meghalaya’s journey towards providing sufficient water to each and every household in the State. He informed that only 4550 rural households was to be connected with tap water in rural areas however, now about 5 lakhs households are connected with the JJM scheme. He then explained that the PHE projects need maintenance and attention after the completion of the project which has repairing cost and other costs and therefore, Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) had been established to take care of these necessary repairs and maintenance works by charging minimal user charges from the customers. Urging the people to take responsibility and have the sense of ownership, he said that people should also take care of the properties provided by the government and be at par with the developmental activities in other states as well.
Meanwhile the Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya D P Wahlang extended his warm wishes to the Chief Minister on his birthday and said that this project is his gift to the people of the State. He mentioned that 66 new pipelines would be laid and 3 reservoirs would be constructed under this project. Further, mentioning that the said project would cater to 30 million litres of requirement of water per day for Tura, he said that this is not the beginning of the vital infrastructure project but symbolises the commitment of the Government to the growth and development of Tura.
During the function, the Chief Minister along with other dignitaries unveiled the plaque for foundation stone for Greater Tura Urban Water Supply and also distributed the keys of the Vehicles to beneficiaries of PRIME Tourism Vehicles.
During the function, there was screening of JJM video and screening of Greater Tura Urban Water Supply scheme video.
Principal Secretary, Government of Meghalaya, Syed M A Razi, Chief Engineer, PHED, B M Lyndem, Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills Tura Jagdish Chelani were among others who spoke during the function while Superintendent of Police, West Garo Hills, Abraham T Sangma, Executive Chairman MBOSE, Tura C P Marak, Officials of PHE Department, Heads of various Departments, Senior Citizens, Members of Development Committees were among others attended the function.
Also Read: Meghalaya-Assam Border: Remaining areas to be resolved before 2028, says Ampareen
Also Watch
Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.
Also, Follow us on-
Twitter-twitter.com/nemediahub
Youtube channel- www.youtube.com/@NortheastMediaHub2020
Instagram- www.instagram.com/ne_media_hub
Download our app from playstore – Northeast Media Hub
