Rajdeep Roy meets Nitin Gadkari, demands immediate completion of ‘Mahasadak’

February 11: In a significant development, Member of Parliament (MP) from Silchar, Dr. Rajdeep Roy met Nitin Gadkari, Union Cabinet Minister of Roads & Highway, Govt of India on Tuesday in the office of the minister inside the Parliament. Dr. Roy apprised the Minister of the various pending highway projects in and around Silchar Lok Sabha Constituency for his urgent attention and early completion.

Infact, Dr. Roy sought an appointment with the Minister in order to discuss some vital issues related to roads with Union Minister Gadkari. It is in this backdrop that the minister called the MP and listened to his views with apt attention.

Later on, speaking to way2barak, Dr. Rajdeep Roy said, “It was a very fruitful discussion where i raised four particular issues which if materialised would go a long way in reducing the hardships of the people of Cachar in particular and of the valley in general. I have basically raised before the Minister 4 basic problems.”

The first issue which was raised by Rajdeep Roy was that of the incomplete ‘Mahasadak.’ He said that the stretch of 31 kms of road from ‘Balachara to Harengajao’ is still unfinished since the launch of this ambitious plan by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He said, “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.”

In response, Dr. Roy said 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.

Another important issue raised by the MP was that of the congestion of Silchar town. Dr. Roy said to way2barak that, “Silchar is a 100 years old town. There exists almost no scope for further widening of the roads inside the Municipal area of the town. Hence, taking advantage of the geographical positioning of Silchar, I suggested a ‘Ring Road’ kind of concept, where a second road can be built on the outer part of the town.” He said that the Minister welcomed his proposal of de-congestion of Silchar town and assured to discuss it with his departmental officials.

The other two issues raised by the MP were that of completion of the road from Balachara which goes through Karimganj and also about the Silchar bypass, wherein a bridge at Sonabarighat awaits completion. Another pertinent issue highlighted by Dr. Roy was to get the old Sadarghat Bridge repaired by involving expert engineering skill, which would then be motorable for atleast another 30 to 40 years. Dr. Roy said that he will do the task of following up the issues raised by with the Ministry of Roads & Highway for their speedy implementation.