Long march down history route - AASU in campaign to reopen Stilwell Road with commemorative trek | ||
| OUR CORRESPONDENT | ||
Dibrugarh, Sept. 14: Its a road redolent with romance, which will once again be used to build a bridge between China and Southeast Asia through India. Stilwell Road, connecting
Assam to China through Myanmar, was constructed during World War II. As a casual worker of the Allied forces at the time, Dumsa Gam had played a crucial role in laying the lifeline. He was one of three explorers sent out to look for the best route on which to lay the road. Tomorrow, the son of Gam, Dumsa Nongwa, will lead another mission through the same territory a symbolic march organised by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) to push for reopening of Stilwell Road. At 11 am, Nongwa and several others will set off on foot from zero point at Lekhapani in Tinsukia district on a 7 km trek down the historical road. Political parties of the region and experts are unanimous that reopening the road will lead to an economic resurgence of the Northeast and also build strong socio-cultural relations between India and countries like Myanmar, China, Thailand and Malaysia. AASU
information secretary Pulak Gohain said, We are honoured to have received Nongwas consent. His father had shown the Allied forces the right direction in which to construct the road. Gam was among three persons sent in three different directions to find the best possible route to build the road, which was constructed to stop the advancing Japanese forces. Of the 1,726-km stretch of the road, only 61 km lie in India. Myanmar boasts 1,033 km of it while China has 632 km. The road originates from the zero point near Lekhapani and ends in Kunming province of China. The Indian portion of the road is designated as National Highway 153 at present. Margherita MLA Pradyut Bordoloi, who is the power and industry minister in the Tarun Gogoi government, has repeatedly raised the demand for reopening the road.
The reopening of this road had been one of the major demands placed by the North East Students Organisation (Neso) to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this year. AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya, its president Shankar Prasad Roy and general secretary Tapan Gogoi will lead the walk, along with representatives from Neso and the Asom Unnati Sabha. Around 15,000 people are expected to join the campaign from various parts of Upper Assam. However, several government agencies have warned that reopening the road might lead to an escalation in the flow of arms and drugs from across the border. These issues will also need close scrutiny, but we need to look into the positives when we talk about the regions economic development. Otherwise, the routes through Tripura and Manipur would
not have been opened for trade, the AASU information secretary argued. |
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