Weeks after an important township of Myanmar near the Indian border was captured by the rebel Arakan Army, an Indian delegation led by Rajya Sabha member K. Vanlalvena on Thursday met with the Arakan Army inside Myanmar and held talks about the road network that is vital for a flagship Indian project aimed at firming up overland and water connectivity with Southeast Asia. The Arakan Army took the Indian delegation 12 kilometres inside the Myanmar territory and revealed to the Indian side that the road corridor of the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project is at present just a muddy track.
“The discussion with the Arakan Army was focused on the refugee problem that we have been facing as well as regarding the Kaladan project which is important for India. The part of the Kaladan project on the Indian side is ready as the road infrastructure has been completed on our side but nothing has been done on the Myanmar side so far. We drove twelve kilometres inside Myanmar on the Kaladan road and saw that it is nothing but a dirt track on their side,” said Joseph Lalhmingthanga Chinzah, General Secretary, Central Young Lai Association (CYLA) of Mizoram who was part of the team that met the Arakan Army. The Kaladan project is nearly $ 484 million connectivity scheme which remains affected by the deteriorating security situation, as well as technical challenges.
The discussion between the Indian delegation led by the Rajya Sabha member from the Mizo National Front took place when he visited the Mizoram-Myanmar border area to inspect the construction of a strategically important road and other facilities. The Arakan Army provided security to the Indian delegation during this visit, said The Lairam Time, a local media outlet of Lai Autonomous District Council, one of the autonomous district councils of Mizoram.
