It is once again that time of the year when social media goes abuzz with intrinsically poor conditions of literally all roads that lead to or are within Tura.
Tura is the second biggest living space in the entire state of Meghalaya. It is also the home constituency of the current Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma, who represents the South Tura constituency. However, despite the high-profile connections, roads in the town are in the doldrums.
In the main bazaar area, roads connecting the localities of Beldarpara, Fancy Valley and the main market itself have lost their sheen. There are huge potholes on every section with the water seepage from leaking pipes around the area ensuring that the dampness remains. Other areas like Dakopgre, Babupara, Chitoktak – Rongkhon also boast of a similar situation.
Most years, prior to major festivals like the Durga Puja or Christmas, the roads would always get an uplift. However, that tradition seems to have been done away with.
“We have never seen roads this bad in Tura. Potholes have developed and there is no care being taken to fill these up. We don’t even know the situation of repairs in many roads of the town or if contracts have been floated to take care of them,” said one AM Marak.
Last year, a meme fest had begun amongst social media users with the many poor roads of the town being highlighted. While the manner in which this was done was in jest, the point seemed to have gotten across. Repairs to those sections began as soon as the memes went viral.
“I think this year too we need to use memes to highlight the pathetic situation. Last year it was Salman Khan swimming in a pool on Tura jail road and a mermaid at Hawakhana. While it was repaired to an extent, the situation has come back to what it was last year. There are once again huge pools on the Tura jail road,” said SR Sangma.
With the Covid-19 pandemic situation relenting, most residents had hoped that development would begin in earnest. However, that seems like a pipe dream for the thousands that suffer on a daily basis on the roads of Tura.
