During the last couple of weeks, amongst all the vital high level meetings that dwelt with developmental issues of the state, roads had come for the maximum number of times. Visit of Union Minister of State for Road, Transport & Highways and his subsequent discussions with the Governor, Chief Minister and warnings to contractors that there will be zero tolerance for any lackadaisical attitude on their part have been positive signs, based upon which one can only hope that Arunachal is finally shaking off its lethargy to pay a desirable heed to this much needed infrastructure.

Lack of quality and adequate road communication infrastructure has been a disturbingly permanent feature which had existed both before and after the days of attaining statehood in 1987 and the current situation is far from encouraging. To the rest of country, the state has earned a bad name for its poor roads which is in sharp contrast to its endless natural beauty that had helped in earning the globally famous sobriquet of ‘Land of Dawnlit Mountains’. Breath-taking natural beauty juxtaposed with nightmarish roads, will be the first-hand reaction from any tourist landing here. It is a pain that is always being felt with the bemoaning that had Arunachal got a better and wider road connectivity, paths to economic upliftment wouldn’t have taken the current snail’s pace. This is a genuine feeling which hurts all Arunachalees who ceaselessly nurtures the hope that their state would one day become a front ranking one in all aspects.

And if the renewed focus that had been cast to amend things particularly through the Act East policy is a ray of hope, over stepping of completion deadlines of road projects is also a reality. It is this particular aspect which has become the achilles heel and it is clear that until and unless this ‘deadline failure’ syndrome is not given the adequate shots of antidote, it would be really hard for Arunachal to efface its ‘underdeveloped’ designation. There are quite a few examples of roads that had almost entered the folklores for their disrepute of not being completed till date, of which the Trans Arunachal Highway and Miao-Vijoynagar road are the most talked about. Time and again it has been reiterated that modern technologies of road making is the only solution for state which will always remain susceptible to the wraths of nature for long-term sustainability along with all other concomitant way outs.

Tourism, agriculture, horticulture, industries and practically all aspects of socio-economic-cultural development had been forced to remain in hibernation for this particular reason. And with time ticking away, there mustn’t be any need to retell that roads must be earmarked as the overriding priority for Arunachal Pradesh.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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