Silchar: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Assam’s Barak Valley on March 14, the Barak Democratic Front has written to the prime minister, urging the Centre to address several long-pending issues affecting the region, including unemployment, poor connectivity, flood management and judicial access.
Welcoming the Prime Minister’s visit, the organisation said Barak Valley — the southernmost part of Assam — has a unique historical, demographic and cultural identity but has long suffered from neglect and policy bias, resulting in slower socio-economic development compared to other parts of the country.
The group expressed hope that the Prime Minister’s visit would lead to announcements of new projects and policies aimed at accelerating the valley’s development.
“This valley is lagging behind in terms of three important parameters which need to be addressed,” BDF stated.
In the letter, the organisation highlighted unemployment as one of the region’s most pressing concerns, claiming that nearly four lakh youths are registered as unemployed, with the actual figure likely to be higher.
It said many educated youths are forced to migrate outside the valley in search of low-paying private jobs or take up work such as driving e-rickshaws to support their families.
The forum also noted that despite a commitment by the state government to reserve Grade III and Grade IV government jobs in the valley for local youths, no concrete steps have been taken so far, even though a legislative provision was approved by the state assembly.
Raising concerns about industrial decline, the organisation said, “All the major public sector enterprises in this valley, including Hindustan Paper Mill at Panchgram, were closed due to negligence and improper policy decisions by the government.”
It added that although the state government had announced plans to establish an industrial hub on the abandoned mill land, there has been little progress.
The letter also emphasised the need to improve the transport and communication infrastructure. According to the organisation, road and rail links between Barak Valley and the rest of the country are frequently disrupted during the monsoon due to floods and landslides.
While welcoming the proposed express highway connecting the valley with Barapani, the group urged authorities to expedite the proposed alternative railway line between Chandranathpur and Lanka.
It also pointed out delays in completing the remaining 30-km stretch of the East-West Corridor passing through Dima Hasao district, which was earlier expected to be finished this year.
Frequent floods were cited as another major concern. The BDF said annual flooding in the valley could be mitigated through dredging of the Barak River, but no significant steps have been taken.
“After the devastating floods of 2022, which engulfed almost the entire valley, the state authorities had committed to renovating the existing drainage systems in Silchar and Karimganj and repairing all embankments along the Barak River on a war footing. However, only about 30 per cent of the work has been completed so far,” it claimed.
Among other demands, the group called for the establishment of a bench of the Gauhati High Court in Barak Valley to reduce the hardship faced by residents who currently have to travel to Guwahati for legal proceedings.
The organisation also reiterated its demand to rename Silchar Railway Station as “Bhasha Shahid Station” in memory of the 11 language martyrs who died during the 1961 language movement in the region.
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The letter was signed by Barak Democratic Front chief convener Pradip Dutta Roy along with several conveners, including Hrishikesh Dey, Joydeep Bhattacharjee, Ainul Hoque Majumder, Debayan Deb, Haradhan Dutta and Khaidem Kanta Singh.
The organisation expressed hope that the Prime Minister’s intervention would help address the long-standing issues and bring development and prosperity to the region.
