Karan Nath, and Rabiul Alam (students), Pradip Das (business), Atish Mitra (professional) and Naba Sarma (Priest of the Kamakhya Temple) are all on the same page today and will be for years to come. Each one of them, like lakhs of Guwahati residents, will benefit from the newly opened Nilachal Flyover.
While Karan and Rabiul would start early from their homes in Baihata Chariali and Hajo respectively to reach the LCB College in the heart of Maligaon on time, Pradip Das, a tea seller, would often hear his customer vent out their anger of a traffic snarl while expressing optimism at the construction of the flyover. Atish Mitra was thankful that he would now save at least an hour, if not more, to commute to and from his house at Adabari to his office on the GS Road.
Similarly, Naba Sarma felt that those who wanted to offer their prayers at Kamakhya Temple would not only be able to do so on time, but many of the outstation devotees would not now run the risk of missing their flights on time.
“We advise devotees who contact us for a darshan at the Maa Kamakhya Temple to come at least an hour before time in view of the traffic. Many from other States would end up missing their flights despite starting from here well in time. We would, even, feel bad for them. All these will now become history. Devotees will now be able to offer prayers here without hurrying through things,” Sarma told Asom Barta, while profusely thanking the Government of Assam for the flyover.
Earlier on August 30, Assam Chief Minister inaugurated the flyover after the Nilachal Hills near which it stands, measuring a total of 2.63 kilometres and starting from Maligaon Chariali to Kamakhya Gate in Guwahati.
Built at a cost of ₹ 420.75 crore, the State’s longest flyover till date was completed within a period of 35 months, although work in the right earnest began months after weeks of preliminary activities on the site.
Addressing a public meeting correlating to the event, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma expressed deep satisfaction over timely completion of the flyover. Stating that the need for a flyover at Maligaon — unquestionably one of the busiest traffic routes in the Guwahati — was long felt, he said the decision to construct a flyover in the area was taken to facilitate ease of commuting to the residents of Guwahati.
He also announced a slew of similar activities in and around Guwahati as well as the State.
Pointing out to the upcoming Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge over river Brahmaputra, the Assam Chief Minister was optimistic that the Bridge would be counted as an architectural wonder and that its design would surpass the beauty of that of the Mumbai Sea Link bridge. “A ropeway project connecting Kamakhya Railway Station with Maa Kamakhya Temple shall be operational in 2026,” he added. Dr. Sarma said the upcoming “ring road” around Guwahati shall be a reality soon and exuded confidence that all projects in Guwahati shall become a reality by 2030.
Chief Minister Dr. Sarma also spoke about his dream of constructing a flyover connecting the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport with Maa Kamakhya Temple and added that one more bridge over river Brahmaputra shall be built connecting the last point of Pandu with the Shakti shrine.
Stating that the construction of the new terminal at Guwahati Airport is slated for completion, Dr. Sarma, who also holds the PWD portfolio, said a 6-lane road connecting Dharapur with Jalukbari along with a flyover at Dharapur Chariali shall be constructed. Moreover, a rotary in front of Deepor Beel shall also be built, Dr Sarma said.
Dr. Sarma listed that flyovers over Bharalumukh Railway Crossing, in front of Rajiv Bhawan, in front of Down Town Hospital would also be built. Dr. Sarma added that the bidding process for construction of the 6-km-long flyover between Reserve Bank office and Bamunimaidam has been completed and construction activities shall commence very soon. Moreover, the under-construction bridge over river Brahmaputra connecting Guwahati with North Guwahati shall be inaugurated by next year’s Durga Puja, he added.
Guwahati shall not limit itself to being recognised as the “gateway to North East” but would gain recognition as the “gateway to Southeast Asia” in days to come, the Chief Minister added.
