A potholed road in Silchar
Silchar, Jan 28 : Craters and potholes on the Barak Valley roads — both highways and interior lanes — are making life miserable for the commuters.
Travel along these dilapidated stretches, which criss-cross through urban areas and rural enclaves of the Barak Valley districts comprising Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi, have in recent times become a nightmarish exercise for motorists.
What is worse is that along with the PWD roads, the arterial routes along the two-lane National Highways 44 and 53, which connect this remote valley with the rest of the country through Meghalaya and Manipur, are also riddled with craters.
Allegations of bias and neglect on the part of the Centre are rife, since both the highways are in fine shape in Meghalaya and Manipur.
The charge against Delhi is substantiated by the fact that the Union ministry of transport is niggardly in sanctioning funds for the portion of the roads which fall under Barak Valley for inexplicable reasons.
Another reason behind the allegation is the failure of the Border Roads Task Force (BRTF in expediting repair work on the dilapidated portions.
Howls of protest during the past three years against the 42 battalion of the BRTF, under the Border Roads Organisation, by local bodies had forced the battalion to stop maintenance work on inter-state NH 44 on July 27 last year.
Following this, the Centre has now saddled the national highway division of the Assam PWD with the task of renovating this road using central funds. But the renovation work is yet to begin in both Cachar and Karimganj.
P. Sinha, the executive engineer of the national highway division of the PWD, however, assured that the work along the 15km stretch of Malidahar-Kalain road would get off the ground very soon, for which a central grant of Rs 15 crore would be utilised.
He said the other badly damaged portions of the 111km NH 44 between Churaibari on Karimganj district’s border with Tripura and Kalian on Cachar’s boundary with Meghalaya would be taken care of in phases.
Dipankar Das, a trader, finds it impossible to undertake any journey by road from Guwahati to Silchar and opts for travel by air. Besides, bumpy rides on rickshaws and autorickshaws in this town continue to pose hassles for the commuters.
Palash Baran Paul, a newcomer to Silchar said, “I have never come across a town in the country with such poor road condition.”
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