Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Governor JJ
Singh has stressed the need to reopen the historic Stillwell
Road and border trade with Myanmar through Pangasu Pass in
Changlang district.
Singh said this when Union Minister of State for DoNER
Pawan Singh Ghatowar called on him at Raj Bhawan here last
night, official sources informed on Saturday.
Highlighting the importance of reopening of the historic
Second World War road, the Governor said that the border trade
agreement between India and Myanmar was signed on January 21,
1994.
Border trade has been officially going on at Moreh in
Manipur and Nampong in Changlang district of Arunachal near
the Pangsau Pass where a border trade centre (BTC) was
inaugurated by the then Union MoS for Commerce Jairam Ramesh
in November 1997.
The BTC at Nampong was practically lying defunct,
Singh told the minister.
“Most imports from Myanmar and China are currently
being channelled through the Kolkata dock, a much longer
sea-route than the Stillwell Road”, he said adding reopening
of this road would reduce transportation costs between China
and India by more than 30 per cent.
Underscoring the significance of border trade with
the neighbouring south eastern countries, the Governor pointed
out that teak would be the major item of import from Myanmar,
which in turn would help preserve the state?s valuable forest
reserves and also transform the economy of the under-developed
and insurgency affected North Eastern region by making it a
production hub for feeding the Myanmarese and western Chinese
markets.
Taking up the cause of air passengers, especially
those with medical cases, he requested the minister to move
the ministry concerned for introducing daily Boeing service
from Lilabari to New Delhi via Guwahati.
Though an ATR flight operates on Lilabari-Guwahati
route for few days a week, the timings were highly nconvenient
and the flight highly irregular and undependable.
He suggested introducing daily Boeing service till
proposed Green field airport comes up at Itanagar, sources
said.
The Governor also expressed his concern at the slow
progress of upgradation of Tezu airport, a central project,
to improve air connectivity of this land-locked state.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, January 21, 2012, 18:36