Shillong, April 4 : Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Monday laid foundation for two prestigious development initiatives in Tura, the district headquarters of West Garo Hills – Skill Park and Youth Centre and Track and Field Stadium. The Skill Park and Youth Centre is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 24 crore, while Track and Field Stadium at a cost of Rs 16 crore, officials said, adding that both the infrastructure are dedicated for activities related to sports, entrepreneurship, development of youth in the fields of sports, athletics, art and culture. After laying the foundation for the projects, the Chief Minister said that the State Government has accorded thrust to build iconic structures in the State and Tura being an important town of Garo Hills, various infrastructure projects are being implemented in right earnest – town beautification project, smart town project, internal roads within Tura town, PA Sangma Integrated Sports complex, amongst others. “For past several years, the roads within Tura town have remained without any repair or renovation. We as Government have taken the responsibility to ensure that roads within the towns are repaired, renovated for the overall benefit of the citizen”, he said, while stating that all the projects are aimed to ensure that the town becomes modern with amenities and facilities. Stating that Tura remained neglected for years, Sangma said that Government through implementation of various projects has envisaged to facelift the town. “My Government in the last two years has faced challenges due to Covid-19 pandemic, but it never dithered our spirit. As a Government through synergistic efforts we have ensured development and welfare activities were implemented,” he added. The Chief Minister informed that the PA Sangma Integrated Sports Complex will have a modern football ground, which is expected to be one of the best football stadiums in the Northeast. He said that the project amounting to Rs 128 crore on completion will also be ready to host national events like the Indian Super League matches. “We have conceptualized a modern design and technology to come up with the construction of the football ground that will soon become the pride of Meghalaya,” he added, while informing that by June-July next, the ground will be ready. During the programme, the Chief Minister also handed over M-Tab, digital learning tablets to the students of different schools from Tura and also handed over cheques amounting to Rs 28 lakh for 50 Producers Groups under FOCUS programme of the Government. RRK KK ARN