Centre to be spend Rs 1 lakh crore to develop Assam road connectivity

The 1.49 km long second Saraighat bridge with cost of Rs 475 crore had took eight years for completion.

The Union Minister declared 1,243 km of roads in the state as National Highway and sanctioned Rs 15,000 crore for it.

Gadkari also announced five new bridges on the Brahmaputra including connecting between Majuli-Nimatighat, Dhubri-Phulbari, Guwahati-North Guwahati, Sivsagar-Disangmukh-Dhakuwakhana and Narengi-Kuruwa and the construction works of the new bridges within short period.

The new projects included a 47-km highway from Guwahati to Mangaldoi via Kuruwa with a bridge across the Brahmaputra, as also road connecting between Badarpurghat-Dullachuwa, Luwaripuwa-Kunmum, Silchar-Kalain, Laluk-Lakhimpur, Majuli-Tekeliphuta, Dudhnoi-Pancharatna, Lahowal-Tinsukia, Halidayaganj-Mankachar, Agia-Lakhipur, Gugamukh-Teliajan, Pathsala-Sarthebari, Tihu-Nagaon, Sonari-Moran, Moran-Naharkatia, Goreswar-Udalguri.

The Union minister said that the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) will spend Rs 8,000 crore in next two years for developing 143-km of roads including few new bridges on the Brahmaputra.

Gadkari told the Assam Chief Minister that there will be no dearth of funds and when needed it will be released.

On the other hand, the Union minister said that two express higjways along both banks of the Brahmaputra to be constructed and the work on DPR was in progress.

The express highways, which would serve as flood protection wall and it would like the Mumbai-Pune highway.

The Union minister also laid the foundation stone for development of Barak River as National Waterways-16 (NW-16) and flagged-off Ro-Ro Vessel MV Gopinath Bordoloi.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)