Ranjit Das (56) and Robin Dutta (61) are among the tens of thousands of residents of Zoo Road in Guwahati who are set to reap the rewards of a new flyover in their area making life and travel easier for them.
“I have lived here for more than two decades. I can tell you with certainty that the Zoo Road when I came and the Zoo Road now when I am speaking to you are poles apart,” Das told Asom Barta with Dutta seconding him.
Their elation was a result of the Shraddhanjali Flyover being dedicated to the people of the State by Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on October 19. Made in a record time of 19 months at a cost of ₹316 crore, the flyover is 2.8-km-long.
Built under the SODP Fund 2021-2022 of the Government, the flyover also extends a length of 330 metre towards the Mother Teresa Road while it stretches 1.98 kilometres on the main thoroughfare of R G Baruah Road.
There were many others who welcomed the inauguration of the flyover, although they are not residents of the area. The likes of Gitali Choudhury (35), a resident of Rajgarh, and for that matter Rajashree Chetia (25) of Chandmari are both in the same league. “The route from Chandmari to Ganeshguri is part of my daily life. Traffic snarls used to take up a lot of my travel time. With this flyover, I think I can now save my time, besides experiencing the artistic work depicted on the pillars of the flyover,” Rajashree told this reporter.
Gitali was more philosophical. “We did face a lot of problems when the flyover was being built. But then how can there be development if we all look at our comfort. It is our Durga Puja gift from the Chief Minister,” she told this newsletter.
During his speech, the Assam Chief Minister outlined a number of new road projects meant for the city to make Guwahati a gateway of South East Asia.
