In what is being seen as an attempt to prevent voters from participating in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) election today, unidentified miscreants set fire early this morning to a wooden bridge in the village of Soksan in North Garo Hills.
The incident saw tyres set on fire on the timber bridge before it was doused by alert policemen, limiting damage to the bridge.
Pressure groups in Garo Hills had called for a boycott of the GHADC polls over the issue of participation of non-tribals in the election process. However, administrations in all the five districts of Garo Hills had worked tirelessly to ensure free and fair participation of all those that were eligible to vote, resulting in any incidents that could thwart peace being acted upon with speed.
“Our police teams have been patrolling non-stop to ensure that untoward incidents do not take place. The fire was noticed and the police acted quickly to douse the flames engulfing the bridge. Thankfully there was no major damage done,” said Superintendent of Police Abraham T Sangma.
The SP added that an investigation has been launched into the case.
The bridge connects the towns of Resubelpara and Mendipathar and was washed away in the devastating 2014 flash floods. The burning of the bridge, however, would not have affected connectivity as there is a subway to assist vehicles to pass through. Another concrete bridge is also on the verge of completion.
