[Achinta Borah]
TAWANG, 5 Oct: The state government is planning to construct a 1,500-km-long road, to be known as Frontier Highway, along with additional 1,000 kms of roads to link the remotest parts of the state, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said.
This “futuristic highway” will be constructed along the “India-Tibet-China-Myanmar” border and it will be as close as 20 kms from the line of actual control (LAC) and the international borders.
“The frontier highway has a huge strategic value. It will bring transformational changes in road connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh. This will be beneficial for the Army too,” Khandu told PTI.
The frontier highway will start from Bomdila and pass through Nafra, Huri, and Monigong, which is closer to the LAC or the McMahon Line. The road will end in Vijaynagar, near the India-Myanmar border.
Some of the important places that will be linked through the road are Tawang, Mago Upper Subansiri, Upper Siang, Mechukha, Tuting, Dibang Valley, Kibithoo, Changlang, and Dong.
As per the plan, the road will also connect with the under-construction Trans-Arunachal Highway, a two-way national highway standard trunk route of about 1,811 kms in length, linking Tawang in the northwestern tip of Arunachal to Kanubari in the southeastern end of the state, and finally ending on NH 52 near Akajan, close to the Bogibeel bridge near Dibrugarh in Assam.
The CM said that the road, upon completion, would stop migration from the border areas and bring development to the doorsteps of the people living in the remote areas.
In addition, 1,000 kms of roads will be constructed to connect the district headquarters, places of importance, and some villages for seamless movement of the armed forces and equipment to the border areas.
“The entire project will cost around Rs 40,000 crore,” Khandu said.
The frontier highway will come up adjacent to Yangtse, where China’s PLA troops intruded on 9 December last year.
After the PLA troops had entered Yangste, a clash took place with the Indian Army, resulting in injuries to soldiers on both sides.
The frontier highway will provide improved connectivity to the state capital, and important places with high density population and economic activities, including the sites of major hydroelectric power projects, a state government official said. (PTI)
