GUWAHATI, Dec 4 � The Public Works Department (Roads) of the State has embarked upon an ambitious plan to convert all roads of river island Majuli into all-weather ones and to replace all the timber bridges with the RCC ones. Already two RCC bridges have been completed and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi inaugurated one of these bridges at a function at Daria Dubi yesterday.
Disclosing this, highly placed PWD sources told this newspaper that all the timber bridges of the river island, numbering 16, are planned to be replaced with RCC ones within the next three years. The project to develop the roads of the river island into all-weather ones is also expected to be complete during the said period.
The department has been implementing a plan to replace all the timber bridges of the State with the RCC ones within the next five years. It needs mention here that in 2001, the State had 5,000 timber bridges. Already 1,878 of them have been replaced with the RCC ones and 1,500 of them are under the process of being replaced soon with the RCC bridges.
The department has undertaken a plan to blacktop the surface of a total road length of 37,501 kms. Of this road length, 50 per cent has now been blacktopped, and 9,702 kms are under the process of being blacktopped, while the rest, that is, 9,146 kms are being blacktopped, subject to the sanction from the Government.
With the available infrastructure, the department can transform this portion of the State�s roads into blacktopped ones within the next 6 years, said the sources.
The PWD (Roads) has built its capacity by providing machinery advances to the contractors and training them and their engineers. The department has also trained up its engineers in various fields of activities, sources said.
Wildlife sanctuaries etc: All protected wildlife areas like Pabitora, Manas and Orang are being connected with the rest of the State with all-weather roads. Besides, important pilgrimage spots like Hajo, Navagraha, Kamakhya, Athkhelia Naamghar, etc, are connected by all-weather roads.
Guwahati-North Salmara Rd: Activities to erect three important road bridges over Manas (400 metres in length), Beki (800 metres) and Mora Beki (166 metres) are going on in full swing. These bridges will help make construction of the Guwahati-North Salmara Road, via Hajo-Doulasal-Barpeta and Abhayapuri, complete.
The Beki bridge is expected to be complete by March 2012, along with the Manas bridge, while the Mora Beki bridge is expected to be complete within the current financial year. The total estimated cost of the bridges is Rs 70 crore, sources said.
If this road becomes operative, the road distance between North Salmara and Guwahati will become shorter by 40 kms. The people traveling between these two places would be able to avoid the extra 40 kms distance, via Nalbari and Rangiya, sources said.
GUWAHATI, Dec 4 � The Public Works Department (Roads) of the State has embarked upon an ambitious plan to convert all roads of river island Majuli into all-weather ones and to replace all the timber bridges with the RCC ones. Already two RCC bridges have been completed and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi inaugurated one of these bridges at a function at Daria Dubi yesterday.
Disclosing this, highly placed PWD sources told this newspaper that all the timber bridges of the river island, numbering 16, are planned to be replaced with RCC ones within the next three years. The project to develop the roads of the river island into all-weather ones is also expected to be complete during the said period.
The department has been implementing a plan to replace all the timber bridges of the State with the RCC ones within the next five years. It needs mention here that in 2001, the State had 5,000 timber bridges. Already 1,878 of them have been replaced with the RCC ones and 1,500 of them are under the process of being replaced soon with the RCC bridges.
The department has undertaken a plan to blacktop the surface of a total road length of 37,501 kms. Of this road length, 50 per cent has now been blacktopped, and 9,702 kms are under the process of being blacktopped, while the rest, that is, 9,146 kms are being blacktopped, subject to the sanction from the Government.
With the available infrastructure, the department can transform this portion of the State�s roads into blacktopped ones within the next 6 years, said the sources.
The PWD (Roads) has built its capacity by providing machinery advances to the contractors and training them and their engineers. The department has also trained up its engineers in various fields of activities, sources said.
Wildlife sanctuaries etc: All protected wildlife areas like Pabitora, Manas and Orang are being connected with the rest of the State with all-weather roads. Besides, important pilgrimage spots like Hajo, Navagraha, Kamakhya, Athkhelia Naamghar, etc, are connected by all-weather roads.
Guwahati-North Salmara Rd: Activities to erect three important road bridges over Manas (400 metres in length), Beki (800 metres) and Mora Beki (166 metres) are going on in full swing. These bridges will help make construction of the Guwahati-North Salmara Road, via Hajo-Doulasal-Barpeta and Abhayapuri, complete.
The Beki bridge is expected to be complete by March 2012, along with the Manas bridge, while the Mora Beki bridge is expected to be complete within the current financial year. The total estimated cost of the bridges is Rs 70 crore, sources said.
If this road becomes operative, the road distance between North Salmara and Guwahati will become shorter by 40 kms. The people traveling between these two places would be able to avoid the extra 40 kms distance, via Nalbari and Rangiya, sources said.
