The Tripura government has instructed the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) to expedite repairs on the Assam-Agartala National Highway (NH-8) ahead of the Durga Puja festival, which begins on September 29. A senior official revealed this directive on Sunday.
Concerns have been raised about the deteriorating condition of the highway between Kumarghat and Churaibari in the Unakoti and North districts. To assess the situation, Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary Kiran Gitte, accompanied by senior officials from NHIDCL and the state PWD, conducted an inspection of the highway on Saturday.
Earlier, Chief Minister Manik Saha convened a meeting with officials to address the poor state of the roads, including the national highway, urging immediate repair efforts. “On Saturday, I traveled more than 400 km along the national highway from Khowai to Kamalpur and Churaibari, passing through Manu and Kumarghat. Senior officials from NHIDCL and the state PWD were with me. The road from Kumarghat to Churaibari requires urgent repairs, as several sections have been seriously damaged due to the ongoing monsoon,” said Gitte.
He emphasized that NHIDCL has been tasked with completing the repair work on this section of the highway before Durga Puja. Gitte also noted that he requested NHIDCL to bring senior officials from outside the state to better understand the ground realities.
Furthermore, Gitte mentioned that state-maintained highways and roads are generally in better condition compared to the national highways managed by NHIDCL through subcontracting.
In a separate instance, West Tripura MP and former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb met with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in Delhi on July 23. He urged Gadkari to deploy high-level officials to assess road conditions in Tripura. Following the meeting, Deb posted on Facebook that plans are underway to construct sustainable reinforced cement concrete (RCC) roads capable of withstanding heavy rainfall in Tripura. He reiterated the need for a team of high-level officials to perform quality checks and identify necessary repairs.
(PTI)
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/tripura/story/tripura-pushes-nhidcl-to-fix-assam-agartala-nh-8-before-durga-puja-1251357-2025-07-27?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2025-07-27 17:16:00
