Road and infrastructure projects across Assam’s Barak Valley will be expedited after Development Minister Krishnendu Paul directed officials to repair key roads before Durga Puja and Kali Puja. The instruction followed a high-level meeting at the Assam Secretariat on Wednesday to assess work in the region’s three districts.

Paul and Minister of State Kaushik Rai joined officials from government departments, district administrations, construction agencies and national highways authorities at the review. Discussions focused on project progress, construction bottlenecks, four-laning work and measures needed to prevent avoidable delays.

Projects examined included the Shillong-Barni Expressway, Bharatmala roads being built across the three districts, works under the Assam Mala programme, a flyover in Shillong city and the road linking Birbal Bazar with the Medical College. The meeting also considered the bridge under construction over the Barak river at Madarpur.

Paul said the review had been undertaken on the direction of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and had resulted in a roadmap for further work. Officials assessed road conditions across the region, while particular attention was given to repairing important routes before the festivals, when movement of people and vehicles is expected to rise.

The road from Shillong to Churaibari will also be raised with the chief minister, according to the minister. The government has instructed relevant departments and construction agencies to accelerate major development works and address issues affecting completion.

MLAs Vijay Malakar, Rajdeep Gaula, Amiya Kanti Das, Aminul Haque Laskar, Zuber Enam and Aminul Rashid Chowdhury attended the meeting. District Commissioners Rahul Gupta, Pradeep Kumar Dwivedi and Joy Bikash, Additional Secretary Aditya Vikram Yadav, Public Works Commissioner and Special Secretary Sanjib Shyam, and Executive Director Nirman Kishan Jambhulkar were also present, along with Power and Forest department officials.