Reported by Avik Chakraborty
Dibrugarh: Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Tuesday inaugurated a motorable steel girder Bailey bridge over the Rima river at Khamlang in Changlang district, improving connectivity for several villages in the area.
The bridge, inaugurated along with Nampong-Jairampur MLA Laisam Simai, is expected to benefit residents of Sangwal Khamlang, Tikhak Khamlang and Mossang Khamlang villages.
In a post on social media, Mein said the region had remained connected to the outside world through a hanging bridge for more than seven decades. Although Miao is geographically close to Khamlang, residents had to travel through Jairampur and Jagun in Assam to reach the town, covering more than 80 km.
With the inauguration of the bridge, the distance between Khamlang and Miao has been reduced to about 7 km, bringing down travel time to around 15 minutes.
Mein said the bridge would improve access to healthcare, education, markets and government services. He added that the project would also strengthen connectivity along the Stilwell Road corridor connecting Nampong and Jairampur and improve access to Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve.
Residents welcomed the opening of the bridge, saying it would ease travel and end years of hardship caused by the lack of a motorable link.