Tuki pleads for revamping road network in Arunachal

Itanagar, Aug 7 (UNI) Arunachal Pradesh Minister for Public Works Department (PWD) Nabam Tuki has urged the Centre to help the state in revamping the road network there.

Official sources said here today that Mr Tuki attended the meeting of state Transport Ministers in Parliament House at Delhi on Tuesday.

Referring to the National Transport Policy (NTP) and National Road Safety Policy (NRSP), governing the utilisation of road infrastructure, he said most of the existing roads in Arunachal were of single lane configuration with narrow culverts and bridges, thereby causing numerous accidents.

Underscoring the importance of road safety features in the state, the minister urged for provision of adequate parking space, crash barriers in accident-prone stretches, adequate retro-refractive signboards, road markings and other amenities.

He also pointed out that the increasing traffic in the state's urban areas made it imperative for overbridges and footpaths to be built for pedestrians and by-lanes to be laid out for bicycles and other slow-moving means of conveyance.

''Weigh bridges too are required in the state as overloaded trucks and other vehicles could meet with accidents while plying on the hilly roads,'' he added.

Mr Tuki called for slope stabilisation measures in the landslide-prone stretches, keeping in mind the occurrence of frequent landslides in the state.

On the process of relief and evacuation of accident victims, he urged the Centre to ensure that the state government had adequate equipment and ambulances for the purpose while framing the NRSP.

Calling for a close coordination between the Centre and the state government, Mr Tuki assured that the state on its part would take all possible steps to implement the provisions of the NTP and the NRSP and that if there are any resources-related hindrances, it would be referred to the Centre.

Mr Tuki impressed upon the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry that the constructions under the Trans-Arunachal Highway, the SARDP-NE projects, the roads to hydropower sites and other places may require high costs of execution since they are on difficult terrain.

Similarly, the maintenance funds available from the Centre may also have to be enhanced to meet the state's ground reality, he added.

Mr Tuki also expressed gratitude to Union Surface Transport Minister T R Baalu for his consistent support to the Arunachal government in the implementation of various road development schemes.

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