The 16km stretch from Mawkarah to Jakhong village in Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills was dug up in 2002 in an attempt to give the villagers of Jakhong a proper road but the public works department never paved it.

Women gave birth on the road, unable to reach the nearest hospital. Some preferred to give birth at home.

Farmers’ produce never reached the markets as it was near impossible to travel on the treacherous kutcha stretch just after the monsoon.

On Saturday, the women of Jakhong village decided to take matters into their own hands.

The women, through the Iamynjurlang Village Organisation, came out of their homes to repair the 2.8km road from the village to Umpongdeng. Men pitched in too, transporting sand and stone chips.

Jakhong falls under Mairang in West Khasi Hills district and has approximately 160 households.

Mairang is about 45km from here while Jakhong is around 47km from Mairang.

According to a resident of Jakhong, hardships, dire consequences of life and other challenges forced the women to take up the task of repairing the long forgotten kutcha road, which is the lifeline and the main backbone for hamlets in the area.

While the kutcha road can be used during the winter, vehicles find it difficult to negotiate on it during the rainy season.

The resident said there was a woman who had wanted to go to the hospital to deliver a child. But because of the pathetic condition of the road, she decided to stay back. On July 5, she delivered her son at home.

The area is said to be productive for agriculture, but the unavailability of a good road has hampered the farmers’ prospects of reaching the produce to the markets on time.

Deputy commissioner T. Lyngwa could not be contacted for his comments.