NHCCL to start NHs improvement from October
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network

Imphal, August 05 2014: The Government of India has set up an agency called National Highways Connectivity Company Ltd (NHCCL) for North East and this company will be tasked with the Border Roads Organsation (BRO) for undertaking improvement works on National Highway-2 (Imphal-Dimapur road) and National Highway-37 (Imphal-Jiribam road) on war footing from October onwards.

State BJP general secretary Ashnikumar told Newmai News Network on Tuesday that the National Highways development works will be shifted to NHCCL from BRO.

NHCCL will dedicate exclusively to the task of structuring/up-grading and widening of NHs in identified states to promote regional connectivity.

Ashnikumar informed that Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has promised to visit Manipur in the first week of October this year.

Gadkari has assured the state BJP leaders that the development works of the NH-2 and NH-37 connecting Manipur will be taken up on war footing from October this year, Ashnikumar added.

Manipur unit of BJP has also shot off a letter to Union Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda drawing his attention to look into the under-construction broad gauge Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway line, Ashinikumar said.

In the letter jointly signed by Manipur Pradesh BJP Th Chaoba, M Ashnikumar Singh, general secretary and Dr RK Ranjan Singh, co-chairman, Vision Document, Manipur BJP contended that the target date for completion of Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway line, which has been declared as a National Project, has been frequently postponed due to certain anomalies in the construction process.

It said Manipur Government has blamed the local law and order situation for frequent blockade along National Highways connecting the state as well as for repeated postponement of the 84.021 km-long rail line construction.

The target date for completion of Jiribam-Tupul section of the railway line was earlier set for March 2014, but it was put off to 2016 and later postponed again to 2010-25, the letter said.

The railway project of Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway line was approved with a budgetary provision of Rs 3056.85 crore which was sanctioned in 2003/4 .

The rail line includes eight major bridges, 89 minor bridges of 25 tonne loading capacity and eight railway stations, and 34 tunnels.

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohon Singh laid the foundation stone of the project at Imphal East's Jiribam subdivision on November 17, 2004 .

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