SILCHAR, Nov 28: For Prakash Kapuri, Maksudur Rahman Selim and the co-participants in the Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal (BBIN) friendship motor rally which left for Agartala on Friday, the road to Silchar from the Jaintia Hills onwards will remain a horrendous memory.
�This too is a beautiful part of India, yet what ails that they are in such a deplorable condition,� wondered Prakash, who is a representative from Nepal in the rally.
Sharing his experiences with the mediapersons here, Maksudur, a participant from Bangladesh said that the rally received an overwhelming response from everywhere and Silchar is a vital location for moving on to the South East Asian nations.
�We are spreading the message of friendship and harmony between the neighbouring counties and we would want facilities like common visa to travel into the neighbouring nations as it happens in the European countries. But the roads need to be improved. The road from Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya till Silchar is pathetic,� Maksudur said.
Namgey from Bhutan said that the roads must be given proper and urgent attention for the greater interest of the people.
Amid the disappointing reactions on the wretched road conditions, Moloy Deb, Executive Engineer PWD NH division Cachar, Silchar, admitted that the road condition at NH-6 is pitiable. But he was quick to say that the repair work would begin in December.
Following the route of road networks laid out during the BBIN-Motor Vehicle Agreement signed among the four nations at Thimpu (Bhutan) in June, the BBIN rally, supported by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which began its journey from Bhubaneswar on November 14 with the mission to enhance people-to-people contact between the countries and cross-border movement of goods and services, with 23 SUVs and 80 participants reached Silchar on Thursday night.
On Friday, the rally was formally flagged off from here by the Deputy Commissioner S Vishwanathan in the presence of ADC Baranya Das, Cachar SP Rajveer Singh, DSA Silchar president Badal Dey, secretary Babul Hore, president of Kalinga Motors Sports Club Praveen Bhanjdeo and local coordinator of the rally Arindam Hore. The rally will pass through Chittagong and Dhaka in Bangladesh before culminating in Kolkata next month.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishwanathan said, �This is an auspicious day for Cachar as the BBIN friendship motor rally is passing through Silchar. The district administration had assured the Government of India of total cooperation and adequate security to the participants and I hope many more successful events like this rally will continue in the days ahead.�
