Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the NH-37 (Assam Trunk Road) reconstruction project here at Chawalkhowa in the presence of State Finance and PWD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The programme was also attended by Dibrugarh MP Rameshwar Teli and MLA Prasanta Phukan. The road has been in a dilapidated condition for more than a decade.
Under the project, a length of 19.54-km of the National Highway passing through Dibrugarh will be reconstruct from Chawalkhowa to Barbaruah at a cost of Rs 32.29 crore.
It may be noted that the condition of the road has been very poor and no repair work has been done as a result of which the people have to face lots of problem while passing through the road.
Chief Minister Sonowal said that the renovated highway will ease the woes of the people while adding that work on the project will be expedited to ensure its completion by March 31, 2019.
He said that their Government is serious about the development of the road infrastructure of Assam.
“We are giving top-most priority to build the road connectivity better under ‘Act East policy’. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given given special impetus to develop the road infrastructure of the region,” Sonowal added.
The CM came under fire from the public for the poor condition of the National Highway passing through Dibrugarh, which also happens to be his home constituency.
During a recent visit to Dibrugarh, the CM had to postpone one of his meetings scheduled at his ancestral village, Bindhakota Muluk Gaon in Chabua as members of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) members blocked the National Highway at Chawalkhowa protesting the poor condition of the highway.
As a result of the protest the CM had to postpone his visit by several hours. The incident had come as a severe embarassment for the ruling party.
On July 22, 2017, Sonowal laid the foundation stone of Graham Bazar to Assam Medical College Road along with two other roads of Dibrugarh but till date no repair work of the Graham Bazar to AMCH Road has been done. The road condition was pathetic as a result if which the patients as well as the daily commuters have been facing problem while passing through the road.
“We have faced lots of difficulty while passing through this road because of its dilapidated condition. We hope that the road will be reconstructed soon. We voted the BJP to power to see ‘change’ but till date the BJP-led Government has done nothing so far for the people,” said a local.