The Assam government and the Cente is planning to construct a 296 km stretch of single lane road through the Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site, along the border of India and Bhutan.
The road proposed to pass between Sankosh river in Kokrajhar district and Sikaridanga in Udalguri district will also connect the Special Service Bureau (SSB) outposts along the stretch of Indo-Bhutan border.
However, the Field Director of Manas Tiger Reserve has denied permission for the construction of the road till the report has been filed.
A Joint Management Committee consisting of all the stakeholders have been formed for the construction of the road so that if any issues arise during the process, it can be solved with the help of the committee.
For preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of this project, an amount of Rs 9.88 crore has been provided by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The road is under the State’s Public Works Department (PWD) Building and National Highway (NH) Division.
During a meeting of the Joint Management Committee, Executive Engineer PWD, Building and NH on December 6, 2016, it has been discussed that the alignment of the road would be within 500 metres from the international border with an offset of 135 metres (50 yards) and would be along the existing ride lines or parallels, reports The Assam Tribune.
The road is planned to be constructed in an environment-friendly manner as it would pass through dense forest areas.
Maximum causeways have been planned to be constructed instead of bridges and no high road embankments will be constructed as this might hamper the movement of forest animals.
Link roads have also been planned to be constructed to the border outposts.
Wadia Techno Engineering Services of Mumbai and Zoma Engineers of New Delhi have been given the task of preparing the DPR and the feasibility report by PWD (NH Works) for this project.