ITANAGAR, 10 Jan: The All Tagin Youth Organization (ATYO) has submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Pema Khandu, seeking his intervention for early clearance of the proposed two-lane highway from Mebi – Gekho in Daporijo in Upper Subansiri district to Assam’s Gerukamukh/Gogamukh.
The ATYO informed that the proposed national highway project has been awaiting formal clearance since 2018.
It said the project, once cleared, would not only reduce the distance between Upper Subansiri and the state capital but also facilitate smooth movement of troops to the sensitive border areas.
The project, which was proposed way back in 1999, got the cabinet approval during the Nabam Tuki-led government in 2015.
Minister for MoRTH Nitin Gadkari had cleared the project in principle during his maiden visit to Itanagar on 13 January, 2017, informed the organization.
The organization also informed that a consulting firm/agency was engaged to carry out feasibility study and prepare a detailed project report in 2018, but the firm/agency has been stopped from carrying out their works by the state government, which it said is causing delay in the formal declaration of the project by the PMO.
Stating that the 78-km proposed road project has been a long-pending demand of the people of Upper Subansiri, the organization said any failure on part of the government in getting formal clearance of the project within a month would compel the organization to launch a series of democratic movements.
The proposed highway will bring down the distance between Daporijo, the district headquarters of Upper Subansiri, and Itanagar to 197 kms, whereas the existing Daporijo-Itanagar road via Ziro is 335 km and the route via Pohumara-Likabali-Bam is 375 km, the organization informed.
