Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (ABAM) – or Ao Baptist Church Association – has appealed to all its members to generously contribute funds for early completion of the Foot Hill road construction.
In a statement issued by its executive secretary Rev. Dr. Mar Atsongchanger, ABAM also urged the elders who know something about the project to share details in the church on Sunday, even as it appealed to pastors to encourage all church members to contribute generously.
The appeal follows a resolution adopted at ABAM’s annual council meeting in 2017 to conduct a special prayer in one of the Sunday devotional services and collect contributions for construction of the road. And in pursuance of the resolution, the church body fixed September 9, 2018 for the prayer and collection of offerings.
And as the day is approaching, letters have been served to all local churches under the aegis of ABAM for information and necessary action. The association said work on the Foot Hill road, which will provide a direct link between Mon and Dimapur, was started on December 21, 2013 by contractor late Yashitsungba and that till date the expenditure had climbed to Rs 70 crore. It quoted Foot Hill Road Committee as having said that 8 km of earth-cutting work was still left and that it was likely to entail a cost of Rs 11.5 crores.
Cautioning that becoming totally dependent on the government and organisations could delay the Foot Hill road construction, ABAM reasoned that though it could not provide the required amount, everyone could participate in its construction by giving whatever little was possible so that “we can avail easy access to major towns.” The association called upon everyone to take part in bringing change in the society and land.