IMPHAL, September 18: Union minister of state in-charge of Defense Pallam Raju today said development of national highway 37 (Imphal-Jiribam) highway would be completed by December 2013.
Pallam Raju was in Imphal for a one day visit as part of UPA government’s damage control exercise in the wake of the BJP campaign for ousting Prime Minister Manhohan Singh on the issue of coal block allocation.
Raju was accompanied by AICC secretary in-charge of Manipur Luzinho Faleiro. The UPA government is sending Ministers and Congress MPs’ to every state to clarify the people on the issue of coal block allocation.
The UPA government’s move to reach out to all the states to claim nothing wrong was committed by the UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh came after the BJP did not allow the Parliament to function for 12 days and also the Prime Minister to make a statement on the charges made in the CAG report.
“The Border Roads Organisation set December 2013 as the deadline for completion of developing the Imphal-Jiribam highway. We are confident that barring two major bridges over Barak and Makru, the development of the road and construction of other bridges would be completed by the deadline,” the Union minister said.
He said the completion of the two major roads could go beyond the deadline, but assured that the progress of the work would be accelerated.
Responding to a volley of questions on why the road construction works get delayed the minister said the national highway had a heavy traffic of supply trucks and this hampered the road development works.
Raju came to Manipur in April this year to see the actual condition of the highway. He had plans to travel by road upto Jiribam. However, he had actually travelled upto Khongsang. Raju said he could not travel upto Jiribam because of bad weather condition.
Next to Imphal-Dimapur highway the Imphal-Jiribam highway is the most important live line of Manipur. After the Naga bodies frequently imposed economic blockades along Imphal-Dimapur highay supply trucks chose to take Imphal-Jiribam highway.
According to reports, more than 500 trucks ply on this route daily.
The Union minister also maintained that during the rainy season the BRO could not work. “The BRO stockpiles material for construction of the roads and bridges during the off (rainy) season,” he said.
He further said that the BRO faced the problems of getting materials like iron and cement while constructing roads and bridges in the Northeast. “If these materials are readily available the works could be speeded up,” he said.
Responding to a question on the PLA’s bomb attack on the Imphal office Research and Analysis Wing Raju said such disruptive activity was a stumbling block in the progress of the country. He charged that countries inimical to India were helping such disruptive activities.