Assam, being the gateway
to other States of the North-Eastern region of the country, requires
adequate and sound infrastructure facilities for speedy socio-economic
development of the region. Accordingly, the Government of Assam has
been undertaking several infrastructural projects in order to attract
significant investments into the State. The major modes of transportation
in Assam are roadways, railways, airways and inland waterways. Besides,
an efficient telecom and power infrastructure is necessary to improve
the quality of life of the people. Guwahati is one of the communication
and transportation hub for the North-Eastern region.
Roadways
The total length of roads in the State is around
69,000 km, covering both metalled and non-metalled surfaces. They
account for approximately 60 per cent of the total road length in
the North-East. Out of this, National Highways occupy 2,044 km;
State Highways 2,028 km and other PWD roads 29,271 km. Such a road
network connects all important places of Assam. Also, the construction
of 160 km of barbed wire fencing and 27 km of the border road along
the Indo-Bangladesh International have been completed. All the towns
of the State are well connected by the Assam State Transport Corporation
and other tourist bus services, run by private operators. These
buses also ply to the capitals of the neighbouring States. Besides,
there are fleet of luxury buses and jeeps available for hire at
affordable prices.
Railways
Assam is well connected with rest of the country
by railway network. There are train services from Kolkata, New Delhi,
Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Cochin and Trivandrum. The length of
railway tract in Assam is 2,391.76 km, comprising 1,061.29 km under
broad-gauge (B.G.) and 1,330.47 km under meter-gauge (M.G.) lines.
B.G. line connection is upto Dibrugarh and M.G. line with Haflong
and Silchar. Within the State, all the major towns like Dibrugarh,
Tinsukia, Jorhat, Nagaon, Guwahati, Tezpur, Barpeta, Bongaigaon,
etc. are linked by railways.
Aviation
Both private and Government owned airlines operate
in the State. Indian Airlines, Sahara Airlines, Jet Airways and
Deccan Air operate regular flights to Guwahati. The regular civil
air services are operating from Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport
(Guwahati); Salonibari (Tezpur); Mohanbari (Dibrugarh); Kumbhirgram
(Silchar); Rawriah (Jorhat) and Silonibari (North Lakhimpur). Direct
flight operate from Guwahati to Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.
Indian Airlines connects Guwahati to the capitals
of most of the other North Eastern States. Air India operates an
international weekly flight between Bangkok and Guwahati. Some of
the tea gardens in the State have their own air-strips and aircraft.
Helicopter services are also available from Guwahati to Itanagar
and Shillong.
Inland Waterways
The Brahmaputra and the Barak are the two most
important navigable rivers of Assam. The Brahmaputra has been declared
as the 2nd National Waterways of the country. There are two public
sector organisations, namely, Central Inland Waterways Corporation
and Directorate of Inland Waterways, Assam, which are operating
water transport services on these rivers on a commercial basis.
These services are used for the transportation of passengers and
goods. Besides, the types of cargo handled mainly are jute, coal,
fertilizers, forest, agricultural products, cement, machinery, etc.
Power
Assam has a huge potential for development of
infrastructure for generation, transmission and distribution of
electricity. It is blessed with abundant reserves of natural
gas and has the potential for generating cheap and eco-friendly
power from small hydro electric stations. The major power stations
in the State are Chandrapur Thermal Project, Namrup Thermal Project
and a few Mobile Gas Turbine Units along with a mini hydro-electric
project. Revitalising the Thermal Power Station of Bongaigaon and
completing the Karbi-Langpi Project will boost the power supply
in the State. Further, approval has been received for Tipaimukh
Dam Project.
Telecom
The telecommunication network
in the State is expanding fast with 269 telephone exchanges, with approximately
1,20,000 working connections. Mobile services are available in the city
of Guwahati. However, BSNL, Satyam Infosys Ltd. and Reliance are the main
internet service providers.
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