Bowing to public pressure, the State government has finally decided to shift the PWD (Roads) North Jowai Division located at Jowai to Shangpung.
As per the notification issued by the State government yesterday, the PWD (Roads) North Jowai Division will be known as PWD (Roads) Shangpung Division.
On July 3, several pressure groups including the FKJGP West Jaintia Hills district unit met Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who is also the minister in-charge of PWD (Roads), urging him to make the Shangpung PWD Division office functional.
According to them, all official works related to the Shangpung PWD Division are being run and managed from the office of PWD (Roads) North Jowai Division, Jowai.
The groups said that the PWD (Roads) North Jowai Division has no jurisdiction with areas under Shangpung as well as the interstate border as far as road matters are concerned.
While the newly-created Shangpung PWD Division covers all rural areas under Raliang and Mowkaiaw constituencies, its jurisdiction also extends to far-flung villages close to the border with Assam including Moolber, Psiar, Khatkasla, Mukroh, Saba, Barato and Saphai Iooksi.
They said that proper road connectivity can be ensured to the border areas if the PWD Shangpung Division is made functional at the earliest.
The groups claimed that areas in Shangpung and other villages along the inter-state border area in West Jaintia Hills would be benefitted in terms of road infrastructure and maintenance if PWD (Roads) North Jowai Division is shifted to Shangpung.
However, the demand for shifting of PWD (Roads) North Jowai Division to Shangpung was opposed by Jowai MLA Wailadmiki Shylla and the Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU).
