Up to 1950 Bam had little
infrastructure of roads and communication and remained largely isolated from
mainland Cachar District.Present NationalHigh way No.54was not a motor able
road. It was village road maintained by Local Board, the local self-government
at that time. People used horses,bullock carts and boats for transportation of
their farm produce. River Rukni connected
with Barak river system in the north served as means of communication for trade
and commerce.Till 1955nearest place connecting Bam with Silchar by motor was
Kabuganj, a distance of 16km from Bhagabazar.Bus service with rickety buses ,engines ignited by using handles,
was introduced in 1955.Harun Rashid
Laskar of Bangram known as Ticket Master
used to issue tickets at Bhagabazar.Riyazuddin
Laskar a senior citizen of
Bhagabazar recalls that bus fare from Bhagabazar to Silchar in upper class
seats wasone rupee seven annas and one rupee by lower class seats . The travelling time was
about three hours for a distance of 35 km
kucchha and dusty road .Initially only one bus would leave at 7.00 am
and return at 3.00 pm.Premtola at Silchar was the bus station .Rickshaws
made their appearance in Bam in around 1958. Telephone-came in 1990 and electricity in1983
.Post office at Dholaibazar served
entire Bam.The post man would come to Bhagabazar on Tuesday and Saturday
the two weekly market days and spread in a sheet of cloth all the letters in
post cards.The addressee or any of his acquaintance was at liberty to pick up
the letters.Now there is a full-fledged post office at Bhagabazar.At present
Bam is served by 16 sub post offces -8 under Dholaibazar Post Office and 8
under Bhagabazar Post office. Landline phone was introduced in 1990 but it has
gone defunct. Now almost everybody is using Mobile Phone.
Since 1950
situation has changed beyond recognition. It is now a typical case of village of
Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle. Now road network in Bam is quite widespread.
The backbone of this web of road network of Bam is provided by four laneSilchar
–Aizawl NH No 54arterial road.Entering Bam at Ramprsadpur, south of Dholaibazar,27
km from Silchar ,it runs side by side with
River Rukni in the western fringe of Bam and passes through Sadagram,Dholaibazar, Saptagram, Bhagabazar ,
Rajghat and takes a detour at Channighat and enters Mizoram at Lailapur forming
a semi-circle from Dholaibazar to Lailapur.
Another State PWD Road runs through 9.00 km western diameter of this semicircle connecting Dholaibazar-Arjanpur-Gurudayalpur-Joydhanpu FV-Hatalmara-FV-Loknathpur-Joydhanpur-the villages in the foothills of Rengti Hills the Western Boundary of Bam and joins NH 54 at Lailapur. Many link roads connect NH54 and Dholai Lailapur PWD road .Another road branches out from NH 54at Channighat and runs towardsouth viaHowaithang,French Nagar,Khulicherra FV,Napithkhal and Napithkhal FV thelast village of BAM towards Mizoram border. This completes the road network of Bam in the western bank of river Rukni.
Another State PWD Road runs through 9.00 km western diameter of this semicircle connecting Dholaibazar-Arjanpur-Gurudayalpur-Joydhanpu FV-Hatalmara-FV-Loknathpur-Joydhanpur-the villages in the foothills of Rengti Hills the Western Boundary of Bam and joins NH 54 at Lailapur. Many link roads connect NH54 and Dholai Lailapur PWD road .Another road branches out from NH 54at Channighat and runs towardsouth viaHowaithang,French Nagar,Khulicherra FV,Napithkhal and Napithkhal FV thelast village of BAM towards Mizoram border. This completes the road network of Bam in the western bank of river Rukni.
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Road to progress:NH 54 enters Bam at Ranfadhi,Ramprasadpur and goes to Mizoram |
