East West corridor within January 31 next year: Minister Kaushik Rai

A CORRESPONDENT 

SILCHAR: Though a number of pillars are yet to be erected and a few acres of land yet to be acquired, Minister Kaushik Rai stated that the construction work of the highly unpredictable stretch between Harangajao and Jatinga would be complete by January 31, 2026. The Barak Valley Development Department Minister along with the Rajya Sabha MP, Kanad Purkayastha, two MLAs Mihir Kanti Shome and Nihar Ranjan Das, and officials of the NHIDCL visited the sites and inspected the progress of the work which faced a series of impediments for years. The minister discussed the work progress with the district administration and NHIDCL as well as NHAI in a review meeting at the Haflong circuit house. Later, addressing a press meet Rai said that 85 percent of the work had already been completed and that the rest would be wrapped up within the next 70 days. “I am confident that by January 31 next year, this stretch of the East West corridor would be ready for vehicular movement,” Rai claimed. 

The Minister said that major parts of the 49-km stretch between Nerim Bungalow and Harangajao were almost complete whereas final works in the 23-km stretch between Jatinga and Harangajao were underway.

Though the minister was confident, the press delegates who travelled with him to inspect the progress of the construction work noticed a number of critical issues that might further delay.  Firstly, the construction of four pillars is yet to be started at Doloichung area and for that Dima Hasao district administration has to acquire land. Local residents had recently demonstrated in front of the Deputy Commissioner office protesting land acquisition. The engineers of the construction company assured that pillars would be completed within one month, which seemed to be an exaggerated claim considering the critical terrain.

Rai, however, was confident that the ‘minor’ land acquisition issue would be resolved very soon. And since the season was now conducive, construction work could be accelerated easily to meet the dateline, he added.

Rai pointed fingers at the erstwhile Congress governments for unnecessary delay in this project which would connect Silchar with Saurashtra. “The previous Congress government for no reason held back the forest clearance on minor pretext,” maintaining this, Rai said that the then Congress MP of Silchar SM Dev termed the East West corridor, a dream project of former Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as a ‘great bluff’ and did not even attend the foundation stone laying programme in his own town. The stalled project got a new lease of life after a change of government first in New Delhi and then in Dispur as the BJP government extensively focused on the quick completion of this stretch, he added. “Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is so eager to wrap up all the incomplete projects of southern Assam that he created a new ministry exclusively for the Barak Valley,” Rai explained.

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