Silchar: Assam PWD has sent a detailed project report (DPR) to the Centre for the construction of the much-awaited two-lane Silchar-Guwahati alternative road, estimated to cost Rs 1,600 crore, a senior official said here on Wednesday.
There has been a cry from different quarters of southern Assam and Barak Valley to construct the alternative road from Silchar to Guwahati considering the non-reliability of NH 6 connecting Badarpur with Guwahati, considered the lifeline of this part of North East.
Traffic remains suspended on this route for days during the rainy season in particular due to frequent landslide and extremely dilapidated condition of the stretch.
Moreover, the metre gauge rail route between Silchar and Lumding also becomes a victim of heavy landslides cutting off Barak Valley, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur for weeks during rains.
The PWD official said the alternate route between Barak Valley (Silchar) to Nellie near Guwahati via Harangajao-Turuk will cover a length of 244.235 km under SARDP-NE Phase-‘A’. Work will be started soon after the sanction of funds by the Centre.
The Union ministry for road transport and highways had earlier cleared the alternative road project considering its importance and sanctioned Rs 87.60 lakh for the DPR.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi recently took up a gamut of issues on improvement of the National Highway sector under SARDP-NE and NHDP in the state with Union minister for road transport and highways, C P Joshi, at a high-level meeting at his official residence in New Delhi.
He urged Joshi to implement urgently the construction of the two-lane alternate route between Silchar and Guwahati. (UNI)