Dhodar Ali
Encyclopedia
The Dhodar Ali is a 212-km-long road starting from Kamargaon in Golaghat
to Joypur in Dibrugarh
touching Mariani, Jorhat. It runs through four districts of Upper Assam holding significance for several neighboring states.
king Gadadhar Singha got the road constructed some four hundred years ago in 1687. The road is so called because the king mobilized some dhods (dhod in Assamese
means lazy) and opium
addicts to build it. Those people were said to pretend to be lazy in order to skip royal responsibilities that made the king to deploy them in the construction. Later, Ahom king Pratap Singha built a stone bridge over the Dorika river on the road. The bridge is 904 ft (275.5 m), 14 ft (4.3 m) and 16 ft (4.9 m). This Dorika bridge connects Sibsagar to the nearby town Sonari
.
is also threatening its existence. Although the road is going to be a double lane very shortly under a World Bank scheme, the North Eastern Council
(NEC)’s simultaneous construction of a drain on the both side within Sonari
is being questioned by public. The construction of the drains is criticised as wastage of money for they will have to be filled up with soil once the construction of the double lane is started.
The Government of Assam, on the other hand, proposed this historic road to be converted into a National Highway. But the Centre
turned it down on the ground that there was no plan to declare new National Highways.
Golaghat
Golaghat , which was one of the largest subdivisions of Assam later, elevated to the position of a full-fledged district of Assam on 15 August 1987, is the headquarters of Golaghat district and is a sister town to Jorhat which is about 55 km away....
to Joypur in Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh is the headquarters of Dibrugarh district, Assam, India, and is the second largest city in Assam after Guwahati. It is situated on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, about north-east of Guwahati. It is the gateway to the three tea-producing districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Sibsagar...
touching Mariani, Jorhat. It runs through four districts of Upper Assam holding significance for several neighboring states.
Construction
AhomAhom kingdom
The Ahom Kingdom was a medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley in Assam that maintained its sovereignty for nearly 600 years and successfully resisted Mughal expansion in North-East India...
king Gadadhar Singha got the road constructed some four hundred years ago in 1687. The road is so called because the king mobilized some dhods (dhod in Assamese
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
means lazy) and opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
addicts to build it. Those people were said to pretend to be lazy in order to skip royal responsibilities that made the king to deploy them in the construction. Later, Ahom king Pratap Singha built a stone bridge over the Dorika river on the road. The bridge is 904 ft (275.5 m), 14 ft (4.3 m) and 16 ft (4.9 m). This Dorika bridge connects Sibsagar to the nearby town Sonari
Sonari
Sonari is a sub-divisional mid-size town and a municipal board in Sibsagar district in the Indian state of Assam.- Geography :Sonari is located at . It has an average elevation of 97 metres ....
.
Present condition of the road
The present state of this historic road is said to be pathetic. The deplorable condition of the road is creating problems to all type of commuters. People express grave concern over the government’s negligence towards repair and improvement of the road. The erosion of the Dhansiri RiverDhansiri River
Dhansiri is the main river of Golaghat District of Assam and the Dimapur District of Nagaland. It originates from Laisang peak of Nagaland. It flows through a distance of 352 km from south to north before joining the Brahmaputra on its south bank...
is also threatening its existence. Although the road is going to be a double lane very shortly under a World Bank scheme, the North Eastern Council
North Eastern Council
In 1971, the Indian Central government set up the North Eastern Council by an act of parliament. The seven States of the North East India viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura popularly known as "Seven Sister States", are the members of the council, with...
(NEC)’s simultaneous construction of a drain on the both side within Sonari
Sonari
Sonari is a sub-divisional mid-size town and a municipal board in Sibsagar district in the Indian state of Assam.- Geography :Sonari is located at . It has an average elevation of 97 metres ....
is being questioned by public. The construction of the drains is criticised as wastage of money for they will have to be filled up with soil once the construction of the double lane is started.
The Government of Assam, on the other hand, proposed this historic road to be converted into a National Highway. But the Centre
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
turned it down on the ground that there was no plan to declare new National Highways.