Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The Assam government is taking up with the Prime Minister the issue of constructing an express highway connecting Guwahati and Silchar via Barapani. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 25,000 crore.
Speaking to the media, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “In my meeting with the Prime Minister two days back, we had talks over infrastructure projects worth around Rs 1 lakh crore lying under different stages in the state. The prime minister assured me of giving Assam some good news before February 2025 even if he cannot approve all the proposals.”
The Chief Minister said, “The proposed Guwahati-Silchar Express Highway is among the projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore. If approved and completed, the proposed express highway will enable a person to reach Silchar from Guwahati in five hours and return on the same day. The estimated travel time on the proposed highway is one and a half hours from Guwahati-Barapani and three and a half hours from Barapani-Silchar.”
The chief minister said, “Other projects under consideration are a direct railway line from Guwahati to Gelephu, a bridge over the Brahmaputra connecting Morigaon and Darrang, increasing the refining capacity of Bongaigaon Refinery up to five million tonnes, the setting up of two satellite cities near Guwahati, an elevated road over Kaziranga National Park, etc.”
The cabinet also approved the enhancement of the cost of the road from VIP Junction to Dharapur up to Rs 474 crore from Rs 358 crore.
It also approved the transformation of 97 Sanskrit and Pali tools into special schools dedicated to teaching Sanskrit, Vedas, astrology, and Vaastu Shastras, alongside modern subjects like science and mathematics. These schools will be brought under the jurisdiction of the Department of School Education and affiliated to Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University, Nalbari.
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