British-era Palasbari road now a bone-shaking nightmare

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Sept 27: This British-era road was once the only link between Guwahati and lower Assam until the tiol highway came up. Today this portion of the historic Assam Trunk Road between Palasbari and Uparhali tells a story of utter neglect.

Around 3-km stretch of this pothole riddled road is now a nightmare for commuters. For years, the condition of the road has remained virtually unchanged.

On occasions, PWD workers fill up potholes as a temporary measure, but the government has not bothered to devise any long-term solution to the civic woes of thousands of residents in the area. In case of any block on the tiol highway between Mirza and Bijoygar, this road is the only altertive for vehicles to ply. “Reconstruction of this road is long overdue. Before every election, politicians, including local MLAs give assurances and promises. However, those have never been translated into action. It will continue to be an issue in the coming elections as well,” says a Palasbari resident Jatindra th Kalita. Three bridges on the road – located at Uparhali, Hudumpur and Baghmara – are also deteriorating by the day.

Of late, a number of industries have come up in the area. As a result, movement of heavy trucks have increased manifold, causing further damage to the road. Locals and organizers of the area have sent repeated reminders to the government to repair the road, but the pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The Palasbari Raax Committee had also sent a memorandum to the Governor, but to no avail.