Guwahati: The road between Kaliabor and Jakhalabandha in central Assam was completely blocked on Thursday as local residents protested against a proposed diversion in the four-laning project of the Kaliabor–Numaligarh section of National Highway (NH) 715.
Protesters also demonstrated outside the Circle Officer’s office, causing disruptions in normal traffic and movement in the area.
The protest opposes the highway’s planned alignment, which, according to locals, would divert traffic from Kaliabor Tiniali and bypass Kuwaritol, Hatbor, and Jakhalabandha, affecting over 80,000 residents in the region.
The Union Cabinet approved the four-laning of the 86-km Kaliabor–Numaligarh stretch of NH-715 in October, with an estimated cost of Rs 6,957 crore.
The project includes a 34-km elevated viaduct through Kaziranga National Park, intended to make the infrastructure more wildlife-friendly.
The Kaliabor Four Lane Demand Committee submitted a formal request to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, asking for a halt to the proposed diversion and suggesting that the existing highway be widened and upgraded instead.
The request was supported by a public survey, which the committee said showed strong opposition to the diversion from residents and local business owners.
The committee has also approached the Gauhati High Court against the project. Senior advocate K.N. Choudhury stated that the primary beneficiary of the diversion would be Pride East Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., which owns more than 100 bighas along the proposed route.
The proposed diversion, requiring over 14 km of new roadway, raises economic and environmental concerns.
Land acquisition, earth-filling, and bridge construction would be more expensive than upgrading the existing road, which is already 60 meters wide in several sections.
Additionally, the new alignment would pass through ecologically sensitive water bodies and an elephant corridor, raising the risk of human-elephant conflicts and threatening wetland ecosystems.