GUWAHATI, Sept 29 - Participants at a meeting organised by the Northeast India Transport Development Association (NEITDA) have called for steps to integrate the development of Guwahati with Chaygaon, Nagarbera and other places, taking them as its satellite towns, said a press release received here today.
The participants at the meeting observed further that in order to realise the benefits of the Act East Policy of the Central government, a state-of-the-art transport infrastructure is indispensable. The government should have time-bound master plans to build an integrated transport infrastructure, including the provision of ropeways, they said.
They suggested that steps be initiated to link the NE region of the country with the nearest ports of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Besides, the rivers of the region should also be developed as waterways, they said.
Further, they said rail link of Moirabari, Jagiroad and Morigaon with Guwahati should be enhanced in a well-coordinated manner to save time and money of passengers.
For better rural-urban communication, the roads and bridges of the region should be improved so as to provide better scope to the people for education and healthcare facilities, they said.
The participants were also for including transport development as a subject in the curriculum of academic institutions.
They further called for steps to study the problems faced by the transport sector � covering all the road, rail, water and airways sectors � through scientific field-level data collection, operational research, cost benefit analysis etc; steps for maintaining a balance between transport development and environment and directly linking the airports with the national highways.
Besides, the participants suggested that the lateral roads and ring roads be developed around the cities, including the identified smart cities, to avoid congestion and traffic jams.
The meeting was addressed by Dr PM Passah, a former professor and chief proctor of the North Eastern Hill University, noted transport expert Dr SB Medhi, educationists Ganesh Sarma, Dr LP Deka, Dr J Patgiri, Dr B Saikia, Dr D Bharali, T Choudhury, Jayanta Das and former economic advisor to the Government of India Dr AK Neog, among others, said the press release.
