The Assam Cabinet on Wednesday approved the construction of elephant underpasses in seven jumbo corridors along the boundary of Deepor Beel, a bird sanctuary and a Ramsar Site.
The 4,014-hectare beel is a wetland on the southwestern edge of Guwahati.
“We have approved underpasses in seven elephant corridors between Azara and Kamakhya railway stations along Deepor Beel,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The construction of two elevated roads across Deepor Beel has also been approved, he said.
The road is almost parallel to the railway track that runs 5 km between Azara and Kamakhya railway stations.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is also working on viaducts in these seven corridors. The total length of the viaducts will work out to 3.5 km.
“The viaducts will be along the existing track as well as the second track in the pipeline,” NFR general manager Anshul Gupta said.
The elephant underpasses are among nine projects awarded to Rail India Technical and Economic Service Ltd “on nomination basis” for ₹24.57 crore to reduce traffic congestion in and around Guwahati, an Assam government spokesman said.
