MP Rajdeep Roy visits Mahasadak, assures to make the expressway motorable by 2021

July 11: Amidst incessant rainfall since early morning, Silchar MP Dr. Rajdeep Roy set out for NH-54, the 4-lane Expressway (Mahasadak) on Saturday. Dr. Roy was accompanied by MLA of Borkhola, Kishore Nath, BJP District President Kaushik Rai, departmental officials, contractors and a few BJP party workers. Beating the hostile weather, the team led by MP Silchar went to the spot at Balacherra- Harangajao segment, where a stretch of 25.25 kms is still unfinished since the launch of this ambitious plan by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Later on, addressing newsmen, Dr. Rajdeep Roy said, “This stretch of road from ‘Balachara to Harengajao’ is still unfinished. It was a dream of Atalji to connect entire India in a form of golden quadrilateral. The foundation stone of this 4 lane expressway connecting Silchar with Saurashtra was laid in 2004. Today I have come here for physical verification of this stretch of unfinished road. Our commitment to complete the work on time & make the expressway motorable stands despite the difficulties faced during COVID-19 pandemic.”

Dr. Roy further accused the former Congress government of not taking proper initiative of completion of this 4-lane Expressway during their long regime. He said that in the first year of his tenure it was not possible for him to get this work gain momentum as the nation came to a standstill due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. He said, “The weather of the area is also not so conducive, which disrupts the pace of work in that stretch. The completion of this stretch of road has been one of my prime aim and I will see that this work reach its logical conclusion by November 2021. The progress of the work will be reviewed every month.” The work of Balacherra- Harangajao segment, a stretch of 25.25 kms is being done under the guidance of MoRTH, Government of India and executed by NHIDCL through Sushee Infra & Mines.

It needs mention here that on 27 June, 2019, Rajdeep Roy raised this issue of incomplete Mahasadak in the Lok Sabha during the ‘Matter of urgent public importance.’ He said that the stretch of road from ‘Balachara to Harengajao’ is still unfinished since the launch of this ambitious plan by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2004. He then said in the Parliament that, “It’s due to the apathy of the then central and state government that on the pretext of no clearance from wildlife and forest department, the road in between ‘Balachara to Harengajao’ was never completed.”

Further, on 11 February, Dr. Rajdeep Roy met Nitin Gadkari, Union Cabinet Minister of Roads & Highway, Govt of India wherein he raised this issue of incomplete ‘Mahasadak.’ Dr. Roy later informed that the Minister called in contractors associated with this project and assured the MP that he will definitely look into the matter and give necessary directions for the early completion of this project.