Mizoram MP urges Centre to fast-track border road projects

Mizoram's lone Rajya Sabha member K Vanlalvena on Thursday urged the Centre to expedite three key road projects, two of them along the Indo-Myanmar border, to strengthen national security and boost regional trade, an official statement said here on Thursday. During a discussion during the Budget session in Parliament recently, the MP highlighted two primary infrastructure gaps - the lack of high-capacity connectivity to the Myanmar border and increasing congestion between Aizawl and Sairang railway station. Vanlalvena urged the Centre to designate two strategic routes connecting Hnahthial to Saisihchhuah in Lawngtlai district as national highways. The two vital routes pass through several key villages, including Tarpho, Cherhlun, Thingsai, Sangau, South Vanlaiphai, and Pangkhua, terminating at the Myanmar border. Highlighting significant infrastructure disparity at the border, the MP claimed that the Myanmar government had completed a double-lane highway from Hakha in Chin state to Saisihchhuah on the Indo-Myanmar border in 2020. Even as the ministry of commerce and industry has designated Saisihchhuah as an official border haat, proper road connectivity was lacking on the Indian side to facilitate large-scale trade, he said. ''Upgrading these routes to national highways is essential to fulfil the goals of the country's Act East Policy, strengthen national security, and boost the economic development of Mizoram's tribal population,'' Vanlalvena was quoted as saying in the statement. In addition to border connectivity, the MP raised concerns regarding the 21-km Aizawl-Sairang corridor. He noted that the recent opening of Sairang railway station has led to a massive surge in vehicular traffic. Citing that the existing National Highway-6 (formerly NH-54) is no longer sufficient to handle the increased traffic volume, the MP urged the Centre to upgrade the stretch to a four-lane highway to prevent bottlenecks and support the state's growing logistics needs.