Transportation

There are four National Highways NH 40, NH 44, NH 51, NH 62 in the State having a total length of 706.56 km. The public transport services have a sufficiently wide coverage linking the important places within the State and with places in neighbouring states.

The road length at the time of creation of Meghalay in 1970 was only 2786.68 km only which has gone upto 7633.00 Km by 31st March 2003 and the road density increased from 12.35 km per 100 square kilometer to 7633 kms; out of which 3691 km is black topped and remaining 3942 km is graveled. The road density has increased to 34.03 km per 100 square.

Guwahati (103 km from Shillong) is the nearest railway station connecting the North-East region with the rest of the country through a broad gauge track network. There is a plan for extending the rail link from Guwahati to Byrnihat (20 km From Guwahati) within Meghalaya.

Umroi (35 km from Shillong) is the only airport in Meghalaya having landing facility for smaller aircrafts and is having flight connected with Kolkata, Aizawl and Silchar. Another small airport is planned near Tura. Borjhar, the most important airport in the North-Eastern Sector have facility for bigger jet aircrafts (like Boeing and Airbus) is 124 km from Shillong. There is also a helicopter service connecting Shillong to Guwahati and Tura.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited offers the latest services that telecommunication technology can offer. Following services are being offered by BSNL viz. Telephone, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) ,Intelligent Network (IN), High Speed VSAT Network (HVNET), Remote Area Business Message Network (RABMN), Internet, Inet, Wireless in Local Loop (WLL), Leased Circuits, Telegraph, CENTREX SERVICES AT SHILLONG.

Meghalaya has an extensive postal network, which includes one General Post Office, one Head Post Office and 495 other Post Offices evenly distributed across the seven districts of the State. They offer additional services like hybrid mail services, satellite money orders, point to point speed post (courier) etc. There is one Post Office for every 3570 persons.

State of the art computer and communication network was also established in all the District Headquarters, linking through VSAT the District Headquarters with the State Capital and also with various states in the country and Central Ministries at Delhi through NIC.A SCPC DAMA VSAT was installed in the NIC State Centre for accessing INTERNET services and Video Conferencing.Another SCPC VSAT was setup in NEC, Shillong for Video Conferencing facilities. This enable Shillong to be connected with the rest of the country through Video Conferencing. A wireless link (RF link) have been installed in the three Secretariat buildings ,NIC State Centre and also North Eastern Council. Another fifteen(15) sites RF connectivity was recently installed. This enable to extend a Local Area Network (LAN) from the Main Secretariat building to the other two Secretariat buildings and NEC building for accessing email and internet facilities. All the District Headquarters are providing INTERNET facilities using a direct PC VSAT.

In order to cater to the growing tourist population, especially foreign, a number of hotels have come up in Shillong and other areas of the State. These hotels provide ideal transit facilities for tourists and the discerning businessmen traveler alike.

Click here for details on Hotels

Banking

Over the years there has been a substantial growth in the banking sector with most of the major scheduled commercial banks having their branches at Shillong and other places in the State. NEDFI, IDBI,NABARD are some of the financial Institutions having their branches in Shillong and other lead banks are SBI,IOB,UBI,Canara,Vijaya Bank,Punjab Bank,UCO,BOI,Co-operative Bank,Rural Bank etc. and Insurance companies like LIC,NIC

As of March 1997, there were nine hospitals in the State of which State Government owns five and four are private.

List of Hospitals in Meghalaya

1. Government Hospitals:

• Civil Hospital, Shillong
• Civil Hospital, Tura
• Civil Hospital, Nongstoin
• Civil Hospital, Williamnagar
• Civil Hospital, Jowai
• Ganesh Das Hospital, Shillong
• North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences(NEIGRIHMS)
• R P Chest Hospital, Shillong

2. Private Hospitals:

• K J P Synod Hospital, Shillong
• K J P Synod Hospital, Jowai
• Nazareth Hospital, Shillong
• Christian Hospital, Tura
• Bethany Hospital, Shillong
• Wood Land Hospital, Shillong
• Bethesda Hospital, Shillong

By 31-12-2003, 13 State Government Dispensaries, 22 Community Health Centres, 93 Primary Health Centres, 408 Sub-Centres and have been made functional in the State. According to 1995 data, there were 378 doctors, 81 pharmacists, 337 staff nurses and 77 lab technicians. A special program has been launched by the State Government for the treatment of Tuberculosis, Leprosy, Cancer and Mental Diseases.

Local as well as major national and international editions of English dailies and magazines are freely available in Shillong and other towns of the State. Some vernacular editions of dailies and magazines have also come out.

Electronic Media: Doordarshan Kendra, Shillong,All India Radio, Shillong, U Peitngor Cable News, Media Plus,Ri Khasi Channel.

Daily News: The Shillong Times, The Meghalaya Guardian,U Mawphor,U Peitngor,U Nongsain Hima,U Rupang.

Weeklies :U Dongmusa,Ka Syrwet Umjer,U Khlur Ka Ri,Sawlyer,Ka Pyrthei Mynta,U Naphang,Yakyntu,Shlem Jingtip,Kynjat Shai,Jakgitel.

Magazines:Eastern Panorama,Grassroots Options.

For information on Newspapers and Media browse at http://megipr.gov.in/local_media.htm

To obviate the problems of prospective entrepreneurs in acquiring and developing sites for industrial purposes, some industrial Estates and Areas have been created and more are likely to come up in the near future.

EXISTING INDUSTRIAL ESTATES AND AREAS

LOCATION AREA IN ACRES Industrial Estates: Shillong 10.22 Mendipathar 7.00 Tura 19.83 Jowai 14.56 Williamnagar 51.30 Nongstoin 10.00 Total 112.91 Industrial Areas: Barapani 109.67 Source: Meghalaya Industrial Dev. Corp. (MIDC)

These Estates and Areas provide well laid out land plots of different sizes with basic infrastructure like factory sheds, all season roads, sewerage and drainage, electricity, water, telecommunication, weigh bridge etc. Additionally, the Industrial Areas provide residential buildings on lease/ rent for employees of interested industrial units.

Interested entrepreneurs are requested to submit applications providing his/her Biodata and brief project profile. Land allotment is done through a Committee comprising of the Commissioner and Secretary Industries, the Director of Industries, the Managing Director, MIDC and Secretary Industries.

An EPIP is being set up at Byrnihat over an area of 259 acres. This scheme, under the Government of India,is aimed at encouraging export efforts by

• building up of infrastructure facilities of high standards to be used by Export Oriented Units (EOUs)
• sustaining the interest of the State Government and local population in building and maintaining such facilities.

The following vital facilities will be made available at the proposed EPIP:

• RCC Buildings and Factory Sheds
• All Weather Roads
• Power Supply
• Water Supply
• Common facilities such as, administrative offices, utility stores, parking facilities, canteen, health centre, post office, banks, training centres, conference rooms etc.

Growth Centres

A Growth Centre aims to promote industrialisation of backward areas with the concomitant infrastructure facilities like power, water, communication, banking and other related services, thereby bringing about a balanced growth of the State.

An area measuring about 182 hectares has been earmarked at Mendipathar for the development of a Growth Centre – on a cost sharing basis between the Central Government and State Government.

Plan is afoot to offer the development of Growth Centres by interested private sector promoters at other strategic backward areas  within the State.