SHILLONG:
Voice of the People Party (VPP) President Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, on April 17, said it seems the government is trying to shield the main culprits – those involved in illegal stone quarrying, and indirectly holding the road construction companies responsible for the April 14 landslide at Rngain that killed two people.
According to him, the government is allegedly trying to push the blame to the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL) and the company working on this stretch of the Shillong-Dawki Road project – the ARSS Infrastructure Projects Ltd.
Training his guns at the Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who is also the local MLA, Basaiawmoit said, “Being from there, he should have foreseen the danger of rampant stone quarrying in the area. Is the government trying to cover up its failure?”
“We will wait and see the outcome of that FIR. If the deputy chief minister is serious about taking actions against the perpetrators, the FIR should be effective and not end up just as a complaint letter,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister incharge of PWD (Roads) Prestone Tynsong, on April 15, directed the East Khasi Hills district administration to file an FIR in connection with the Rngain landslide.
Two people were crushed under piles of boulders triggered by a landslide at Rngain near Pynursla on April 14 evening. One of the two deceased was the headman of Wahlyngkhat.