The potholes are getting deeper, the patience is running out — and now, student bodies in Arunachal Pradesh have had enough.
“Not a Single Promise Kept Since Independence”
Two prominent student organisations — the Basar Area Students Union (BASU) and Jigo Yegi Student Union — came together under a Joint Action Committee (JAC) on August 4 and submitted a formal representation to the Deputy Commissioners of Lower Siang and Leparada districts. Their demand is clear: fix the Akajan–Likabali–Bame (ALB) Road within 15 days, or face a large-scale public agitation. What’s striking here isn’t just the ultimatum. It’s that this conversation has apparently been going on since Independence — and the road still isn’t done.
Nyakar Taipodia, Chairman of the Joint Action Committee, didn’t mince words. “Instead of improving, the road condition has continued to worsen every year. It is not only causing immense hardship to the public but also poses a serious national security concern, as the Likabali Army base depends on this road for movement of defence personnel and military equipment,” he said. That last part deserves to sink in — a road that the army depends on is being left to crumble.
More Than Just a Commuter Road
The Akajan–Likabali–Bame Road is no ordinary stretch of tarmac. The approximately 100-km route serves as a crucial lifeline for Lower Siang, Leparada, West Siang, Shi Yomi and Upper Subansiri districts, while also providing connectivity to the international border regions of Mechuka and Tuting. Five districts. Two border regions. All of them hanging on a road that reportedly gets worse with every monsoon season.
For people living in these areas, this isn’t a political issue — it’s daily survival. Think about transporting a sick person to a hospital, or getting basic supplies through during a landslide. Now imagine doing that on a road that hasn’t seen meaningful repair in years.
Leaders Playing Hot Potato While Roads Fall Apart
Giken Riba, President of BASU and Vice-Chairman of the Joint Action Committee, criticised elected representatives for allegedly shifting responsibility between agencies — specifically between NHIDCL and GREF — instead of ensuring timely completion of the project. “Our leaders have remained silent,” he said flatly. That’s a damning charge, and it echoes a frustration felt across many parts of the Northeast — where big promises meet slow execution.
The irony is hard to ignore. The Central Government recently declared the Akajan–Likabali–Bame Road a strategic road project, following which demands have grown to transfer its execution to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for faster and more accountable implementation. So the Centre sees the road’s importance. Now the question is whether the state machinery will catch up — or wait for the next ultimatum.
The Clock Is Ticking
The JAC has been measured and democratic in its approach — memorandums, representations, press statements. But that patience is wearing thin. The Joint Action Committee has warned that if concrete steps are not initiated within 15 days, it will launch a larger public agitation demanding immediate reconstruction and upgrading of the strategic border road.
Fifteen days. That’s the window the government has been given. In a state that sits on one of India’s most sensitive international borders — where road access is directly tied to national security — letting this ultimatum expire unanswered would be more than an administrative failure. It would be a statement about whose lives the system considers worth protecting.
The road has been waiting since Independence. The people living along it cannot wait much longer.
HASHTAGS
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