In what is expected to be a game changer for the people of the plain belt, the oft-derided Agia-Medhipara-Phulbari-Tura (AMPT) road will soon be widened and converted into a two-lane highway.
The current state of the AMPT road, as per those that use it for their daily commute, is nothing short of being a journey through hell. While some sections between Chibinang to Rajabala have been repaired, most of the other parts of the 132 km road are in absolute tatters.
The pathetic condition of the road starts from the outskirts of Tura itself with large potholes being the norm rather than the exception.
Beyond the village of Garobadha, the road takes on a hellish form with special mention to the section near the village of Gonglanggre, which is the worst of the lot. Cars and even trucks have been known to get stuck in the huge potholes in this stretch of the road.
The situation remains the same through Halidayganj and only gets better for about 30 kms from Rajabala to Chibinang. The rest of the road continues to be consistent with the poor quality that the other parts of the road suffer from.
Local MLA from Phulbari, S G Esmatur Mominin, confirmed that the road construction on AMPT road will be taken up soon, as quickly as December this year, though he is yet to get complete details.
According to him, the road would be built under the road scheme of the World Bank and is expected to be of international quality.
“The suffering of the people in terms of roads across the plain belt should be over in a few years as the upcoming road will be a two-lane highway. The current road will be widened to allow for construction of the new one. Work is expected to start soon though we are yet to get an exact date,” said Mominin.
The road construction will precede the upcoming bridge across Brahmaputra river that will connect the town of Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in West Garo Hills. The bridge will be the biggest in the country and one of the longest in the world.
In what will bring further cheer to the people across the plain belt, work on the Selsella road has already begun with the one connecting Dadenggre – Rongram through Phulbari in the pipeline.
Once completed, the three roads will bring about a much needed fillip to infrastructure across the plain belt of Garo Hills.
