WATERWAYS TO CONNECT BRAHMAPUTRA-GANGES AND OTHER RIVERS

India would connect 101 Rivers through inland waterways, including Ganges and Brahmaputra, after passing a landmark legislation in the parliament this session.

Union Road transport and highways, Nitin Jairam Gadkari today said the legislation would be placed in the Parliament which would transform the inland waterways system in the country like never before.

Gadkari announced the move after dedicating two vital highways to the north east region at a function at Umroi, some 25 km from the State Capital.

In his announcement Gadkari said that in China the inland waterways transportation makes up to 47 percent of the total transport available and in European countries the same is 44 percent.

Sadly, he said, the inland waterways transportation in Indian is just 3 percent. “We would ask the State Governments to have a stake of 26 percent in development of the waterways in the new Bill that would be placed in the Parliament… the rest the centre would bear the cost,” the Minster said.

Under the new Bill Assam would be one of the biggest beneficiaries as Brahmaputra, Ganges and three other major Rivers across the country would be developed in building infrastructure that would give a hand in enhancing communication in the landlocked region.

Gadkari said that out of the three modes of transport (road, railways and waterways, developing waterways is the top priority of the BJP-led NDA Government. “Developing waterways is the top priority of the Government,” he said.

 He further added that in Guwahati a National Highway Road Development Corporation would be established after stating that developing communication network is his Government’s top priority as the region has been historically cut off from the rest of the Nation.

 The Minster further announced that local contractors would be given priority in terms of funds and technical support in building road networks in the region and then up road projects.

Moreover, the Union Minister said that a whooping Rs 15,000 crore would be invested in the region to develop communication network by the Government. The Government has also decided to build roads using cement instead of Bitumen, the Minster said.

Meanwhile, Gadkari dedicated the Shillong Bypass (NH-6) and the Umiam-Jorabat four-lane highway to the Nation. The 47 km-long Umiam-Jorabat four lane highways connects NH-40 and NH-44 that leads to Mizoram and Tripura, bypassing the Shillong.

BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed in Hospital

Former MP and joint secretary general of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Salahuddin Ahmed is in Meghalaya police’s custody for illegal entry into India and a case under Foreigners’ Act registered here in the State Capital today.

Additional Director General of Police, SK Jain told the Assam Tribune that Ahmed was found in a “disoriented state” and had no documents on him when he was found.

He said a case has been registered under the Foreigners’ Act, 1946 as he had no documents to prove his citizenship. “We will not say he has been arrested, but definitely he is under our custody,” Jain said when asked.

The additional director general of police said the case is being looked into from “various dimensions” and appropriate steps are being taken to handle this sensitive case.

In fact, Ahmed was first seen loitering suspiciously in Golf links area in the State Capital on Monday and was alerted by the local residents after which he was taken into custody. The police interrogated him and he admitted that he is a Bangladesh citizen and was a former MP.

However, when the police found him a bit disoriented he was referred to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), but the institute confirmed he was mentally sound. He is now lodged at the Shillong Civil hospital earmarked for under trail prisoners.

For the past two months Ahmed went missing from Dhaka and his whereabouts were not known with speculation that he was arrested by the plainclothes men in Dhaka.

Ahmed’s wife Hasina Ahmed ran an extensive campaign and even sought Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s assistance to locate him. There BNP held numerous hartals in Dhaka to help locate Ahmed.

Meanwhile, Ahmed who spoke to some media persons here alleged he was kidnapped from Utarra area in Dhaka on March 10. Ahmed said he doesn’t recall how he came to Shillong and landed in the hospital.

On the other hand, police official said that Ahmed’s case has been intimated to the Central Government for further action after verifying his credentials from the Bangladesh embassy. However, many are tight-lipped about the duration Ahmed was staying in the State Capital or when he entered into the country.

The arrest of Ahmed in the country has once again exposed the gaping holes in India’s security network. Questions are being raised how and when Ahmed sneaked into the country hoodwinking the vast security apparatus deployed all along the 443-km International border with Meghalaya shares with Bangladesh.