Centre clears road project in Arunachal Pradesh

It is the country’s longest road project under PMGSY

Ø The Centre has cleared the 157 km Miao-Vijaynagar road project that will connect the remote Vijaynagar circle in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh along the India-Myanmar border, 100 km of it passing through the Namdapha National Park.

Ø Touted to be the longest road project under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana, it will have altogether 25 bridges along its stretch.

Ø At present, there is no road to this border area with 13 recognised villages and one unrecognised settlement. For over 5,000 people of these villages, the only alternative to air transport is a six-day walk from Vijaynagar to the nearest town Miao through the dense jungles of Namdapha. There is no electricity in Vijaynagar.

Ø The Miao-Vijaynagar road was motorable till 1976 and has fallen into disrepair since then. The project, estimated to cost about Rs. 160 crore, is targeted to be completed in four years. When completed, it will directly link the Advanced Landing Ground of Vijaynagar, considered to be one of the toughest ALGs in the country at an altitude of 4,200 feet, and also an Assam Rifles post that was opened in 1962 in this remote and strategic frontier.