Itanagar, April 21: The Students’ Union Movement of Arunachal Pradesh (SUMA) organised a peaceful protest rally in Itanagar on Monday, raising concerns over the alignment of the proposed Arunachal Frontier Highway (NH-913) and demanding administrative reforms in the state.
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| Police personnel interact with protesters during the SUMA rally in Itanagar demanding realignment of the Arunachal Frontier Highway and relocation of the MoRTH regional office. |
The rally began from Akashdeep and proceeded to Mithun Gate, with participants highlighting what they described as the “wrong alignment” of the proposed Frontier Highway from Nafra to Vijaynagar. Protesters urged the authorities to reassess the alignment of the strategic road project.
As part of its campaign, SUMA also submitted a memorandum to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, expressing concerns about strategic infrastructure planning in the border state.
In the memorandum, the union urged the Ministry of Defence to realign the proposed highway within 15–20 kilometres of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to strengthen national security and safeguard border integrity.
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SUMA further demanded the permanent relocation of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) regional office from Tezpur in Assam to Itanagar, stating that the move would improve administrative efficiency and enable faster decision-making on infrastructure development in the frontier region.
The student body said the protest aimed to highlight the concerns of frontier communities and youth in Arunachal Pradesh, calling for a more strategic and locally responsive approach to infrastructure and security challenges along India’s eastern border.
