JIRI: In spite of assurance given by Chief Minister N Biren to make the National Highway 37 (Imphal-Jiri) operational by May end, progress of the repairing work in some parts of the highway has raised a poser whether the government would be able to live up to its assurance.
On their way to Jiri, a media team found some sections of the 220 km long highway in deplorable condition. After remaining without much development under Border Road
Organisation (BRO), the renovation work of the highway was handed over to National
Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) from March 27 last year.
Subsequently, NHIDCL awarded contracts to three different agencies – MS HVS Construction Materials Pvt Ltd, MS Nidhi Creative Infrastructure Ltd and MS Bhartiya Infra Project Ltd – by dividing the entire highway into three sections. HVS Constructions Materials Pvt Ltd is awarded contract work for the stretch from Oriental College (3 km) to Awangkhul (75 km).
Nidhi Creative Infrastructure Ltd was awarded contract for the stretch from Awangkhul (75km) to Barak (245 km) while Bhartiya Infra Project Ltd was awarded the stretch from
Nungba (145 km) to Jiribam (220 km).
In the first phase, the agencies would carry out pot holes mending, dredging of roadside drains, sand gravel levelling, clearing landslide blockages and filling large sinks along
the highway. Recently, works minister Thongam Biswajit had also inspected the repairing works.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Biren told The People’s Chronicle that he would look into the matter. During the visit, the media team found a truck stuck in the middle of the highway at
a distance of about 2 km towards New Keiphundai. The 8 km long stretch in Makru area, which is the worst affected part of the highway, is also in deplorable state. Despite filling
boulders, it is still a tough task for smaller vehicles to cross the stretch.
A stretch of about 50 metres in the area is still filled with slush. Interestingly, the media team could find no workers in the area except for an excavator with NHIDCL label. Despite the assurance of the state government to make the highway operational by May end, the media team did not come across much workers along the entire stretch of the highway though there were some labourers working in levelling sand gravels near Rengpang.
Source: The People’s Chronicle
