From CK Nayak
New Delhi: Congress President and UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, is likely to inaugurate the much delayed Shillong Bypass which is on the verge of completion barring some finishing touches.
According to AICC sources here the newly elected Meghalaya Government has requested Gandhi to inaugurate the Shillong Bypass, one of the major projects taken up in the State by the Congress-led Government.
“This will be sort of thanks giving gesture to the people of Meghalaya who for the first time returned the Congress Government to power with such a record margin,” the sources said.
It has not been finalized when the signature Bypass will be inaugurated by Gandhi along with the Union Minister for Road Transport, CP Joshi.
Incidentally, it is only in Meghalaya that the Congress has come back to power in the February Assembly polls while losing in Tripura and Nagaland.
Meanwhile, the four-laning of NH-40 (Jorabat to Umiam), which is going on break-neck speed barring sporadic disruptions, is targeted to be completed early next year.
Completion of the intermediary Jowai Bypass has relieved traffic congestion to some extent as all coal-laden trucks are diverted along this road, reports said.
The construction of the Shillong Bypass has been delayed for more than 20 years because of problems in land acquisition and hurdles imposed by red tape. This has caused hardship to the people of the State and the rest of the North East, as traffic congestion has become the order of the day.
Once the bypass is constructed, the trucks plying through Shillong will be diverted through the Bypass to reduce traffic snarls. The cost of the 47.06 km road project is about Rs 500 crore, starting from National Highway 40 at Umiam in Ri Bhoi District and ending at National Highway 44 at Mawryngkneng in East Khasi Hills District.
