Meghalaya Seeks Direct Road Connectivity with West Bengal to Improve Connectivity

AGARTALA: The Meghalaya government on Saturday sought support from the Centre to establish a direct road link between Balurghat-Hili in West Bengal and Mahendraganj in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya.

Speaking at the 72nd Plenary Meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC), chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Agartala, Meghalaya’s Power Minister AT Mondal underlined the significance of the project, stating that this direct connection would foster trade and commerce while reducing the travel distance from 600 kilometers to just 85 km.

Mondal expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Ministers of Meghalaya and Assam for their support in expediting the Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge project. He described the bridge as a critical infrastructure development and one of the longest in India and Asia, with a total length of 19.3 kilometers.

He also pointed out that these projects would help address the “chicken neck” issue, a narrow corridor in North Bengal that poses logistical challenges for the northeastern states.

The 19-km Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge, currently under construction over the Brahmaputra River, will connect Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya. Scheduled for completion by 2026–27, the bridge will fill a missing link in National Highway 127B, providing road connectivity to Tura, Nongstoin, and other towns in western and central Meghalaya.

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