Tura (Meghalaya), May 22: From clogged bazaars to cinema screens, Tura’s skyline is set for a reset. Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday broke ground on a ₹150 crore urban blitz that packs parking, hospitality, youth spaces, and heritage into three flagship projects, while wiring the city tighter to citizens through CM Connect.
The overhaul starts at Najing Bazar, where ₹60.76 crore will raise a commercial hub with basement parking for 40 trucks and 50 cars, a 70-bed hotel, 200 shops, and a 500-seater banquet hall. Vendor capacity will double, Sangma said, with no disruption to existing livelihoods. At Dakopgre, a ₹51.21 crore multi-level complex will stack space for 200 cars beneath three 125-seat cinema halls, a gaming zone, and food court aimed at easing congestion and stretching visitor time in town. The SMELC building gets new life as a civic core, adding an art and culture promenade, museum, kid zone park, CM Youth Centre, and active ageing centre for elders.
“Over the last eight years we’ve started changing Tura, but we still have a long way to go,” Sangma told officials, artists, and residents gathered for the launch. “Success will be measured by lived experience — safety for families, dignity for vendors, opportunities for youth.”
The event doubled as a governance showcase. Sangma unveiled the Tura Municipal Board Mobile App, handed cheques to artists under the Chief Minister Artists Engagement Scheme to turn city walls into murals, and rolled out cleanliness grades for localities with awards for top performers. He cleared 552 smart LED streetlights worth ₹6.51 crore for dark stretches, markets, and school routes, and announced nearly 500 CCTV cameras across 300 units linked to command systems that locality committees can access.
He pitched CM Connect as the backbone of responsive government. Every call to the 1971 helpline is logged, routed, and tracked till closure, with the CM monitoring it in real time. West Garo Hills has logged 7,644 connects and 767 grievances, 355 resolved. Statewide, the platform has seen 69,975 connects and 5,540 grievances, with 2,509 resolved. To cut trips to district offices, CM Connect Offices will open in all 56 blocks for certificates and services, with digital platforms set to make delivery faster.
Sangma framed the upgrades as Tura’s runway to the 39th National Games 2027. Clean corridors, walkable districts, and Garo identity woven into design will define the visitor experience, he said, pointing to the revival of Tura’s historic cenotaph as a space of remembrance and civic pride.
The programme wrapped with a CM Connect Session where citizens placed grievances directly before the Chief Minister and officials.
