Northeast
DoNER-Minister Jitendra Singh (File image)

The Centre on Saturday dedicated two inter-state road projects in the Northeastern region.

The 17.47 km-long Doimukh-Harmuti road, which links Assam and Arunachal Pradesh while the 1.66 km Tura-Mankachar road, which provides connectivity between Assam and Meghalaya were dedicated by DoNER minister Jitendra Singh through video conferencing.

Singh said that the inauguration of the two roads marks a reiteration of the government’s commitment to development of the North-eastern region (NER).

He said the Northeast has undergone a revolutionary transformation in the last five years under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The minister said due to intervention of the central government, there has been a visible transformation in rail, road and air connectivity in the NER.

“Two North-eastern states–Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, have been brought on the rail map. Besides, the Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge in Assam, the longest rail-cum-road bridge on Brahmaputra river, was inaugurated on December 25, 2018.

“The new Greenfield Airport at Pakyong (Gangtok), first Airport in Sikkim, which has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 553.5 crores, was inaugurated on September 24, 2018,” he said.

The Doimukh-Harmuti Inter-State road has been constructed under the North East Road Sector Development Scheme (NERSDS) at a cost of Rs. 58.25 crores.

The length of the road in Assam is 7.87 km and remaining 9.60 kms in Arunachal Pradesh. The construction of the road was started in September, 2017 and completed in January, 2019.

Tura-Mankachar Road is the first road which has been completed under the NERSDS. The construction of the road was started in September, 2017 and completed in June, 2018.

This road has also been funded by NEC at a cost of Rs. 4.71 crores. The road provides an alternative connectivity to Tura and will immensely benefit the people residing in the West Garo Hills District of Meghalaya.