Road to the Future

Driving up the Indian stretch of this historic road that has come to be known as Stilwell Road is not just a journey down memory lane. It is also a preview of things to come,with the people of the three countries waiting for the road to reopen from Ledo in Assam to Kunming in the Yunnan province of China through Changlang and Myanmar. JJ Singh,the governor of Arunachal Pradesh,recently urged the Centre to take measures to reopen Stilwell Road to boost trade with Myanmar. The border trade centre that was set up at Nampong in Changlang in 1997 following a trade agreement with Myanmar has been defunct for several years. In 2014,Myanmar will assume chairmanship of ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations. With the recent elections signalling historic political changes in the country,if the road becomes functional by then,it would enable a free flow of goods.

Bulldozers are already at work in the area. The government of India had declared it as National Highway 153 in October 2000 following a joint conference with China,Myanmar,India and Bangladesh in Kunming in 1999. The Chinese portion of the road,which heads westward from Kunming,was converted into a six-lane highway several years ago. Progress in Myanmar,where more than half of the road is located,has been slow. The Indian government still has no defined time frame for the reopening of the road. In 2007,India became the last of the three countries to start work on the road,with a plan to convert it into a two-laner. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 130 crore.

A number of culverts across mountain streams stand completed. Meantime,a survey of possible transborder trade activities has been conducted,with communities close to the international border between India and Myanmar identifying items that could be traded.

I am happy this road is being repaired and widened. I think something good is going to happen to us once the road becomes better and more people start coming here, says Chamlon Mungrey,a farmer in Sekong village located on the Stilwell Road in Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh. Hundreds of people like him now struggle with jhum cultivation slash and burn method of cultivation,that is detrimental to the soil and the environment to make ends meet.

Those who are better-off have started setting up tea plantations. At least a dozen tea estates have already come up on the lower slopes of the Patkai range that divide India and Myanmar and constitutes about five districts of eastern Arunachal Pradesh. Last December,when VK Gupta,additional director-general of foreign trade,made a trip up to Pangsau Pass and crossed over to the small town of Pangsau in Myanmar,Thay Aung,chairman of the Pangsau Town Peace and Development Committee suggested that construction materials,petroleum products,timber,medicine,edible items,electronic items,sport items,stationery and utensils be allowed for cross-border trade. People from Pangsau and Nampong now engage in informal trade organised by security forces on both sides at a fair that takes place thrice a month. Poultry,mustard seed,rice,salt,biscuits,cloth and spices are traded.

As we drive up the winding road from Ledo in Assam through 56 km of the Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh to the last point on the border,two signposts greet us. One declares that we are in the Union of Myanmar,and the other establishes the border at Pangsau Pass at 3,727 feet 1,136 metres above sea level. Over a couple of kilometres on the historic road,from Pangsau Pass to Pangsau town,the road becomes difficult to negotiate. India and Myanmar are in a deadlock over the repairwork in the area.

All along the road,especially from Jairampur,jawans of the 18 Assam Rifles,the para-military force assigned to guard the Indo-Myanmar border,check credentials of the travellers. Its barely a war zone,but they have a bigger enemy to tackle. Till very recently,the Stilwell Road had been an easy passageway for Naga and Kachin insurgents. Ethnic insurgency that riddles the Northeast is now somewhat under control,after insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagaland,Isak-Muivah NSCN entered a ceasefire with the Indian government in 1997. The flow of funds into the region and Bangladeshs crackdown on terrorism in recent years have also helped improve the situation.

The opening up of the road will also promote tourism in the region. While the economy will receive a boost on both sides,people will be able to drive up to Kunming in China from Assam, says Pradyut Bordoloi,Assam minister for industry and commerce. Bordoloi represents the assembly constituency of Margherita,where the Stilwell Road originates in the township of Ledo. Incidentally,the easternmost tip of the Indian Railway network is located at Ledo.

At Jairampur at Miao,Phupla Singpho eagerly awaits the reopening of the road. The Namdapha National Park will be an added attraction once the road is reopened, says Singpho,who runs a tourist lodge at Miao,located barely 15 km east of Ledo. The 1,984 sq km Namdapha National Park,which is more than double the size of Kaziranga,is home to at least four cat species,including the tiger and the clouded leopard,and shares an international boundary with Myanmar. Currently,we get few domestic tourists who come to visit the area, says Singpho.