Tura, May 31: Travelers from Garo Hills into Assam and vice versa have been severely impacted following the closure of the main bridge connecting Chaygaon to Guwahati that sustained damage due to heavy rains early Saturday morning.
Chaygaon is approximately 41 kms from Guwahati and falls on the main highway leading up to Goalpara, Bongaigaon and into Garo Hills region.
Travellers, particularly those heading up to Gopinath Bordoloi Airport to catch a flight had a harrowing time navigating traffic through alternative village roads to reach their destination.
“Till last night we were aware the road was open, but this morning we got the news that the entrance to the bridge had collapsed on one side due to the rains,” said a Xylo tourist taxi driver who was ferrying passengers from Tura to Guwahati.
With the arrival of the monsoon season, two days of incessant rains has caused extensive damage to roads, flooded low lying areas and triggered landslides on hilly areas of the region.
“My friends on their maiden visit to Tura had a flight at 1O’clock today and were fortunate to have left town very early in the morning. As the main road was closed due to the bridge damage we had to divert through some village roads but even there we encountered massive traffic jams. We managed to reach the airport in the nick of time,” said the young Bangalore student from Tura.
To bypass the Chaygaon bridge travellers had to take a right turn, a little beyond Boko, and into a PMGSY road that leads up to Mirza and Rani, near the airport. However, traffic snarls have also been reported from there due to the volume of vehicles using that road.
Alternate roads to and fro Tura and Guwahati
PMGSY road (beyond Boko) and into Mirza
Cons: heavy traffic with possibility of breakdowns that could further delay travel
Jogigopa-Bongaigaon road
A new four lane highway from Bongaigaon road junction (after crossing Jogigopa bridge- now called Naranarayan Setu) has been deemed the best alternative road to head into Guwahati.
Although the distance is much longer- arrival time is similar (6 hours journey) given that the existing Paikan-Chaygaon-Mirza road is under road expansion.
The highway comes out at Rangiya, near IIT Guwahati.
Pros: a smoother travel with no hiccups
Cons: A longer distance (70 kms from Paikan junction).
