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Bus service from Imphal to Mandalay in Myanmar to begin from April
A trial run of the Imphal-Mandalay bus service was carried out in December 2015 wherein a 27-member team of officials from both State and Central Governments had studied the condition of the 579-km long route.
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The much awaited bus service to connect Imphal with Mandalay in Myanmar will begin in April, Manipur’s Chief Minister N Biren Singh said Tuesday.
The CM made the statement in the legislative assembly during a discussion on the transport department. The bus service will initially be operated thrice a week and could be turned into a daily service depending on demand.
Improved road connectivity with Southeast Asian countries is part of India’s Look East policy.
A trial run of the Imphal-Mandalay bus service was carried out in December 2015 wherein a 27-member team of officials from both State and Central Governments had studied the condition of the 579-km long route via Tamu, Kalay and Monywa in Myanmar. Other states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland share a 1,640 km long land border with Myanmar.
Before this a delegation of Myanmar Government officials visited Imphal in January 2015 to conduct a joint survey with Indian team on the route alignment for the Imphal-Mandalay bus service. Mandalay has a large number of people of Indian origin.
The Chief Minister also said that the flight service between Imphal and Mandalay will also be introduced soon. The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has floated a tender in this regard, he added.
Biren Singh also said that connectivity between Imphal and the remote areas of the state will even get better as more helicopter services will be introduced to augment the existing ones, especially for Churachandpur, Ukhrul and other hills districts.
Authorities are planning to develop helipads at Jessami (in Ukhrul district), Parbung (in Pherzawl district) and Thanlon (in Churachandpur district), he said.
Landlocked Manipur currently has helicopter services between Imphal and few places including Jiribam and Tamenglong after it was re-launched in August last year.
