For overall development of Arunachal Pradesh better road connectivity is essential in the state, the State Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma emphasised. Addressing the 62nd plenary of the North Eastern Council (NEC) at New Delhi on July 16, the governor said that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is assigned responsibility for implementation of roads in Arunachal Pradesh through Vartak, Bramkank, Udayak and Arunank projects, a Raj Bhawan communiqué said in Itanagar on July 17.
Urging the NEC to take a lead in developing the 160 km road from Pangsau (India) to Myitkyina (Myanmar) on the lines of Tamu-Kaleywa Indo-Myanmar Friendship road, the governor said India’s Look East Policy holds immense potential for the region. North East region is the lynchpin for success of this policy, with connectivity as its prime concern. Therefore the focus must be on developing the historic Stillwell Road, he said.
While sharing his experience of his visit to Changlang district, Sharma stressed on the need to formalise and improvise trade through Pangsau Pass, making trading a regular feature and Pangsau town a trading hub.
To facilitate the initiative, he called for co-opting a senior officer from the external affairs ministry in the NEC. Raising the issue of the 2,000 mw Lower Subansiri project which was started in January 2005, the governor said construction work at the site has been halted since 20 December 2011.
