Historic old Cachar road in Manipur to be upgraded to National Highway

Manipur’s historic road popularly known as Tongjei Maril (Old Cachar road), which was one of those trek routes that connected the erstwhile kingdom of the border state with other princely states where transportation was based on horseback, will be upgraded to a National Highway.

The state Works Minister Govindas Konthoujam confirmed this while replying to a question by Tamenglong MLA Janghemlung Panmei during the question-answer session on the sixth day of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly held on Monday.

The Old Cachar road was also used for commercial activities with other kingdoms or nations and many Kings of Manipur depended on this particular track.

Minister Konthoujam said that the historic road is among the seven roads whose upgradation to National Highways status has been approved. “The government is taking up necessary steps in this regard,” Govindas said.

The minister also acknowledged the importance of this Old Cachar road after the Irang Bridge along the Imphal-Jiribam sector of the National Highway 37 was collapsed on July 11 last year.

Sharing a similar sentiment while raising his question, MLA Janghemlung informed the house of 60 legislators that the road was used as an alternative route during the collapse of the bridge on Irang River.

The 111-km long Imphal-Jiribam railway line- one of the crucial connectivity projects for India’s northeastern region which is being constructed parallel to the National Highways 37, at an estimated cost of about INR 14,322 crore to connect Manipur state capital-Imphal with the country’s broad gauge railway network, is targeting to complete before 2024.

The Shiva Sena Manipur unit had once demanded to convert Tongjei Maril as National Highway and to depute more police highway patrol cars in order to bring better law and order situation and to avoid illegal taxes along the national highways. Imphal, Feb. 27 (EMN)