Vital road construction brings smile to many denizens of Pakke Kessang in Arunachal Pradesh

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: A vital road that was embroiled in controversy in the last several years has finally brought smiles to many denizens of Pakke Kessang district in Arunachal Pradesh, with work on the 62-km stretch of the road from Itakhola in Assam to Pakke Kessang through Seijosa, going on in full swing. After completion of the road, people from Pakke-Kessang could reach Seijosa within one and a half hours, which was earlier completed in more than ten hours via the Seppa-Nechiphu-Bhalukpong road.

The NEC approved the road project in 2013–14 with an estimated cost of Rs 166.16 crore. It was sanctioned in 2015–16. However, the project got delayed because of litigation, and the tender process could be completed in April 2017. Later, it got entangled in fresh litigation, which again delayed the project. The work finally began in October 2017, but at a snail’s pace. The progress of the road project got momentum after 2019 when Biyuram Wahge, the incumbent MLA from Pakke-Kessang, prioritized the work on the road in a challenging mode, and now it is progressing smoothly with approximately 30 per cent work yet to be completed. “The road is through now, though incomplete, and we can travel easily to Pakke-Kessang to meet our relatives at regular intervals,” said Johny Nabum of Mobuso-1 village. She, however, informed that during the monsoon, it is difficult to travel through the road as landslides hamper commuters along a portion of the road where construction activities are going on.

The work on the road project was allotted to PRL-Gepung (JV) in April 2017 through national bidding. The road is almost complete from both Seijosa and Pakke-Kessang sides, except for a stretch of a few kilometres in between, where formation cutting, culvert construction, and bridge construction activities are going on, informed an official of the state PWD. Kama Nabum, a local from Jolly Village, is a happy man today. “It was a distant dream for us to travel through the road to meet my daughter and grandchildren at Pakke-Kessang earlier. However, with the progress of the road, now I could easily meet them even, twice a week,” Kama added.

Pakke-Kessang gram panchayat member Hari Nabam informed that earlier there was a communication gap between the people of Pakke-Kessang and Seijosa as the NEC road was almost non-existent. However, the pace of construction activities gained momentum, and now there are no hindrances for the people of the two places to meet frequently. “The credit goes to Biyuram Wahge, the state BJP unit president, who took up the challenge, prioritized the road, and directed all concerned to complete the vital project as soon as possible. “The people of the district appreciate his developmental initiatives,” Hari added. The Pakke-Kessang district was carved out of East Kameng district in 2018 with five administrative units, namely Pakke-Kessang, Seijosa, Pijiriang, Passa Valley, and Dissingn Passo, with district headquarters at Lemmi. “Since Biyuram Wahge was elected MLA in 2017 for the first time in the by-election, the developmental activities in the constituency have received a major boost. The major achievements were the health centres at Seijosa and Pakke Kessang, the higher secondary school, and various village roads, to name a few, besides the progress of the NEC road,” Darlong gaon bura Budhiram Tai said.

Tai added that the people of Seijosa witnessed several new projects like flood control measures, the upgrade of the health centre with state-of-the-art equipment, the higher secondary school, and several village roads. Seijosa gram panchayat member Sara Tana also praised the lawmaker for his efforts in initiating developmental activities in the constituency, which he said were never witnessed earlier. Another GPM, Doley Tayum of Goloso, also appreciated Wahge for undertaking various activities, including the vital NEC road, for the benefit of the people of the constituency and asserted that the MLA would definitely make a comeback in the 2024 assembly elections from the constituency. However, despite several attempts, the DC of the district could not be contacted for his comment.

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