4-lane National Highways a Rarity in Northeast

Assam still has 406 km of NHs with below-2-lane width

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Not to speak of 4-lane highways, etc., there is still a total of 406 km of highways in Assam, which is less than 2-lane in width. It is not only in Assam but in other states of the Northeast as well that such great lengths of highways exist that are less than 2-lane in width.

According to recent statistics of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Assam currently has a total of 4,077 km of national highways, comprising 38 numbered national highways (NHs). Of the 4,077 km of NHs, 1130 km are four-lane and above, 2,541 km are two-lane, and the remaining 406 km are still less than that of two-lane width.

Of the 1130 km of NH that are four-lane and above, the condition of the road in some stretches is not good to traverse. For example, if one moves from Jorabat to Guwahati, on the stretch after the Bharat Petroleum fuel depot (earlier NRL), the condition of the road up to Khanapara flyover is very bad. This stretch is under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Like Assam, Arunachal Pradesh also has several stretches of NHs that are less than two-lane wide. According to MoRTH, the total length of NH in Arunachal is 4,368 km. Out of this, only 46 km are four-lane, 3865 km are two-lane, and the remaining 457 km are less than 2-lane wide. The same story is seen in Manipur, where 546 km of NH is less than two-lane, 1,185 is two-lane, and the rest 109 km is four-lane. In the neighbouring state of Meghalaya, there is currently 1156 km of NH in total. Of this, only 62 km is four-lane, 1.012 km is two-lane, and the remaining 82 km is less than two-lane. Another hilly state of Mizoram in the NE has a major portion of 524 km NH that is less than two-lane and 978 km is two-lane. The total length of NH in Mizoram is 1499 km, but four-lane NH are yet to be seen in Mizoram.

Moreover, Nagaland has a total of 1,670 km of NH, of which only 26 km is four-lane, 779 is less than two-lane, and 865 are two-lane NHs. Sikkim has a total of 709 km of NH, but not a single km of that is four-lane. According to MoRTH, 358 km of NH are currently less than two-lane in width, and the remaining 351 km are two-lane. Like Mizoram and Sikkim, Tripura too has no four-lane NH as yet. The state has a total of 889 km of NH, and 327 of that is less than two-lane, while the remaining 562 km are two-lane NHs.

This goes to show that, though strategically important, with international borders, the NE states are still not developed in terms of NH infrastructure. The government, both at the state and centre, must take cognizance of this fact and remedy the situation for better transportation and communication in the NE states.

 Also Read: Assam: Encroachment in tribal belt leads to National Highway blockade at Sonapur (sentinelassam.com)

Also Watch: