From Our Correspondent
JOWAI: The Public Work Department (Roads) is planning to construct the Jowai Bypass to connect National Highway 44 with the Jowai-Amlarem-Dawki Road (NH 40-E).
The probable cost of the construction work would be Rs 49.47 crore approximately out of which the Union Ministry of Road and Surface Transport has released a sanction of Rs 619.86 lakh for land compensation.
“The amount for land compensation has been handed over to the West Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner,” informed the Executive Engineer, PWD (Roads), NH Shillong Circle, Jowai Central Division, Sainia Kyndiah.
“The aim of this Bypass is to ease traffic congestion in Jowai and ensure uninterrupted flow of traffic,” he informed.
Presently the Jowai-Amlarem-Dawki Road caters to the economy of almost half of the district on the southern side. All agriculture products, the main source of economy of the people of the area, moves through this stretch of the highway. Coal, the mainstay of the economy of the District, is also transported through this highway as it is the shortest route to Bangladesh.
Jowai, the headquarter of West Jaintia Hills district, has been growing at an unplanned rate. In recent years rapid development has taken place in every sphere, whereas the roads have remained narrow, sources said.
Traffic congestion is the main problem of the town. The volume of traffic moving inside the town is tremendous especially when considering the population and the width of the roads. No wonder recent statistic indicates that there is an addition of two new vehicles every three days for the town and its surroundings villages, the sources said.
The market area of the town is the main economic zone of the district resulting in movement of enormous volume of traffic. Unfortunately, the NH 40-E runs straight through this path, so besides normal traffic, hundreds of coal-laden trucks also move through the market area for transporting coal to Bangladesh via Tamabil.
“We will start the work as soon as we get the sanction from the Central government,” Kyndiah informed.