Priority to construct roads, rlys in NE: Zeliang

Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang today said priority should be accorded to construction of highways and railways in the north east to connect it with the rest of the country and the neighbouring nations.
"Construction of highways and railways within the region should be the priority so that the geographical isolation of the region becomes a thing of the past and its location will no longer be considered remote and isolated but central and strategic in terms of international trade and development," he said.
Inaugurating a workshop 'India-Japan Partnership Towards Meeting the Challenges of Infrastructure Development in India's North East', he said the most practicable and convenient road and rail connections between India and South East Asian countries should run through Nagaland to Moreh border town via Imphal.

For this the East-West corridor should be extended from Doboka junction in Assam to Moreh via Kohima and Imphal.
"There is already a highway connecting Moreh upto Kuala Lumpur, which needs to be upgraded to international standards. The railway line should also run more or less along this alignment," he said.
The second most important infrastructural gap of this region is power sector, both in terms of adequate availability and its efficient transmission and distribution system, he said.
Zeliang said the workshop was organised in pursuance of the 'Tokyo Declaration for Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership' adopted during the meeting of the prime ministers of the two countries in Tokyo in September 2014, which placed special emphasis on Japan's cooperation for enhanced connectivity and development of the north east.

It also placed emphasis on linking the region to other economic corridors in the country and to South East Asia, he added.