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Northeast security top priority; strategic tunnels to boost connectivity: Assam CM
Himanta Biswa Sarma’s remarks came a day after PM Modi inaugurated an emergency landing facility on a national highway in Dibrugarh.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said security in the Northeast is a prime concern and several strategic infrastructure projects are being implemented to ensure uninterrupted connectivity to the region even in the event of an attack by an enemy nation.
Sarma’s remarks came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated an emergency landing facility (ELF) on a national highway at Moran in Assam’s Dibrugarh district, and after the Union Cabinet approved the construction of a twin-tube road-cum-rail tunnel beneath the Brahmaputra river connecting Numaligarh to Gohpur.
The ₹18,662-crore project will be the second such twin tunnel in the world after a similar one being built under the Baltic Sea between Germany and Denmark. The project will have four partners — the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), the Assam government, the Indian Railways and the Indian Army, Sarma said.
“In case of a war, if some bridges over the Brahmaputra are bombed, the twin tunnel will help in maintaining connectivity between the north and south banks of the river. Another strategic project is the construction of a railway tunnel through the Siliguri Corridor, which is also known as the Chicken’s Neck,” Sarma told reporters in Guwahati.
The ELF at Moran is located about 300km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and around 70km from the border with Myanmar.
Sarma said around four-five more ELFs will come up in Assam in the coming years and that, apart from strengthening security, they would also be useful for rescue and relief operations during floods. He added that these strategic projects would ensure security not only for Assam and the Northeast but for the entire country in the event of a war with an enemy nation.
“The Northeast is in a strategic location as we share boundaries with China, Bangladesh and Myanmar. During the 1962 war with China, then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had said that his heart goes out to the people of Assam when Chinese troops advanced up to Tezpur. These new projects will ensure that no Prime Minister has to make such a statement in the future,” the CM said.
“These projects should have happened long ago. It took New Delhi a long time to realise the strategic importance of the Northeast. The new initiatives show that the security of Assam and the rest of the Northeast is a top priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government,” he added.
Sarma also said the Assam government would sign a memorandum of understanding next month with the Union ministry of civil aviation to conduct studies for constructing four new civilian airports at Majuli, Diphu, Umrangshu and Manas.
“During the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit held last year, the central government had promised infrastructure projects worth around ₹80,000 crore. So far, we have received approvals worth about ₹55,000 crore,” he said.
He added that several new projects are likely to be announced soon, including a ₹1,500-crore ropeway connecting Kamakhya railway station to Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, an elevated corridor from Guwahati airport to Jalukbari costing another ₹1,500 crore, and a four-lane highway between Baihata Chariali and Tezpur worth ₹14,000 crore.
The chief minister also referred to other key projects already approved by the Centre, including the Guwahati Ring Road costing around ₹7,000 crore, including land acquisition, and an elevated corridor on a national highway at Kaziranga worth ₹6,957 crore.
“To be built at a cost of around ₹22,000 crore, the Silchar–Shillong–Guwahati high-speed corridor will be the biggest road project in Assam. It will be a game changer, reducing travel time between Silchar and Guwahati to around four-and-a-half to five hours. The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the project next month,” Sarma said.
