User Rating:  / 0

The World Bank Road

Mizoram’s Path to Prosperity

In a hilly and landlocked state like Mizoram roads are the drivers of the economy, lifeline of the people and a medium to take development to the doorstep of the citizens. With improved connectivity people in remote and inaccessible parts can have better access to education and healthcare.  Expansion of markets for selling agricultural produce and development of micro enterprises help in the economic empowerment of the people. In this manner, roads thus have the potential to bring about marked changes in the quality of life and standard of living. Border Roads Organization had played the pioneering role in connectivity in Mizoram in the 1960s but that role is now being taken over by the state PWD, which has recently completed the construction of the biggest road project in the state.

  The Aizawl – Thenzawl – Lunglei  State Highway  billed as the biggest infrastructure project of the state, connecting the capital city Aizawl to the second biggest town Lunglei  and popularly known as the World Bank Road was inaugurated by the Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla at Melriat on the 11th of May 2011. The World Bank funded the project under ‘States Road Infrastructure Development Technical Assistance Project’ and the state Public Works Department oversaw its construction. Though the Project was initiated under the present Chief Minister’s earlier tenure in 1997, due to the subsequent decline in Indo-US relations in the aftermath of the Pokhran test in 1998, approval was granted only in 2002.

Completed in roughly nine years at a cost of Rs. 538.401 crores, the World Bank Road had reduced the distance between Aizawl and Lunglei by 71 kms from the earlier 235 kms to the present 164 kms thereby cutting the traveling time from 8 hours to 5 hours. The World Bank funded 85 percent of the cost of the Project while the remaining 15 percent was borne by the Government; out of which 90 percent was funded by the Central Government with the remaining 10 percent being provided as a loan to the state government. The Project was divided into two phases – Phase I covering Kulikawn – Buangpui and Phase II from Buangpui – Lunglei costing Rs. 181.27 crores and Rs. 230.098 crores. The Project also encompassed the Aizawl Bypass Road, a stretch of 13 kms from Zemabawk to Melthum which cost Rs. 45.319 crores as a part of the World Bank Road. The Road is an Intermediate Lane with a width of 5.5 metres.

The Bypass Road has been a blessing to Aizawl as trucks and other big vehicles circumnavigate the city and trucks plying on NH-54, connecting Aizawl to Silchar can directly take the Bypass Road and move towards Lunglei without causing traffic problems. This has to some extent been a breather for traffic controllers, given the nature of the narrow and winding roads within the city.

According to the Project Director K Sawmvela the construction of the road was very challenging as such a major project had never been executed by them before and the hilly treacherous terrain posed many problems and risks. Valuable experience in addressing the complex social and environmental issues that often arise during road constructions as well as novel methods of supervision and contract management have been gained by the engineers of PWD during the course of the work. Help was taken from the CSIR to deal with the most difficult section of the road – a 1.5 km stretch of rock with steep cliffs known as the Midum Kham. Control blasting technology was employed to deal with this stretch in which a special technique using bamboo spacers was used. Engineers realized the significance of the humble but abundant bamboo in Mizoram as it proved to be an excellent material for blasting rocks without damaging high tension towers and residential structures. Project engineers also pioneered innovative bio-engineering techniques to stabilize hill slopes along the landslide prone stretches of the road using bamboo walls, bamboo terracing and bamboo knitting.

The Road is expected to accelerate the pace of development in the southern part of the state and in the three Autonomous District Councils. The once sleepy villages are now vibrant as the villagers see new hope for the future. It may be mentioned that work on another major project - Kaladan Multi Modal Project that will develop a road and river route to Sittwe port in Myanmar has commenced. With its completion in a few years Mizoram can truly be the gateway to the North-East via the Bay of Bengal.

Pratap Chhetri