The high roads

Rail,road and air connectivity in the Northeast needs to be urgently fast-tracked

Following the death of former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu in a helicopter crash,the Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region DoNER has requested the prime ministers intervention to get scheduled airlines to operate from Assams Tezpur and Lilabari airports bordering Arunachal. Currently,no airline operates from these airports,even though the ministry spends money maintaining the Lilabari airport just 70-odd km from Itanagar. It has cited the strong resentment and lowered confidence among locals following three chopper accidents within 11 days and urged the

Centre to improve air connectivity. These are people on rough and remote terrain,dependent on helicopters,services of which are now suspended,which again,the ministry claims,could affect development.

There has always been so much to do,and do earnestly,in the Northeast that any specific and immediate need ties itself up with larger,long-term development. The DoNER ministry was set up to develop the region,after it was recognised that its deprivation and underdevelopment called for a dedicated Union department. However,it was left to Arunachal to remind New Delhi time and again that if the Centre was not to be bothered by periodic Chinese noises,it had to develop the state. That involves infrastructure to begin with,followed by trade and industry,encompassing the power projects. While the airline services are an immediate need,they are undoubtedly linked to the larger transportation project of roadways to enable freer movement of people.

The Northeast is landlocked and needs gateways to markets. India may have lost out on rebuilding the Stilwell Road,but it still has the Sitwe port which can link the Northeast to the Bay of Bengal via NH 54 and the Kaladan river. Theres also NH 39 and the border infrastructure project which can build a trans-Asian road system. However,Delhi hasnt moved on utilising the recast India-Bangladesh relationship. A rail and road connection through Bangladesh would make life and livelihood immensely simpler and richer for the Northeast. Within the region and without,Delhi has to act unilaterally and quickly. The Northeast not only calls for redress of its underdevelopment but also offers the pivot of Indias Look East policy and geopolitical calculations in the east.