The devastation that Meghalaya has experienced by the severe bad weather over the past two weeks is something that will take years to recover from, though the wounds may never heal for the families of the deceased.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today described the level of destruction he witnessed while touring the affected areas last week as something he has never seen before.
At the peak intensity of rainfall, the Simsang River rose by 30 to 40 feet in just three hours, the CM said by way of example.
Crews have been working non-stop to restore road, electricity and telecommunication connections since but, while electricity is almost complete, damage to roads and bridges is a major issue. The situation is so bad in places that even “the machines to restore the roads are not able to reach”.
The state government has requested Rs 300 crore from the Centre as financial assistance. This, Sangma said, is based on estimates provided at the beginning of the calamity while the CM was on a visit to New Delhi.
“The natural calamities had hit the state during the same time when I had visited Delhi. I decided that I must go with some preliminary report and estimates of the damages during my meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. I therefore asked the PWD (Public Works Department) and other departments to prepare an assessment of damages to roads, farms and homes,” he said.
Shah has suggested that a joint central and state team assess the scale of the damage together.
Sangma also lauded the armed forces, especially the Indian Air Force and Border Security Force, for extending a helping hand to provide relief, including the delivery of food and other essentials.
