DIMAPUR, JUL 21 (NPN): The Konyak Union (KU) has submitted a memorandum to chief minister Dr. Neiphiu Rio seeking immediate economic relief and rehabilitation measures for Mon district following widespread destruction caused by incessant monsoon rains and flash floods.
Submitted through DC Mon, KU president K Yamao Konyak and general secretary Wango Konyak said the union said could not present a complete damage assessment during the chief minister’s visit on July 20 due to the collapse of communication networks across the district.
KU said the disaster had caused massive displacement, destruction of livelihoods, loss of property and livestock, and severe damage to agriculture.
Among its key demands, KU highlighted extensive destruction of jhum cultivation in the Wakching area, where around 135 villages reportedly suffered damage to cultivation fields due to landslides and soil erosion, threatening food security as crops due for harvest in August were washed away.
The union also reported heavy damage to tea plantations and other cash crops in Wakching, Tizit, Naginimora, Upper Tiru and Lower Tiru, while claiming that around 950 houses across Mon district had been either partially or fully damaged, leaving many families displaced.
KU said that partial drone footage of the destruction was presented during CM’s visit to Mon. Considering the scale of the devastation, KU said the affected families were facing immense hardship, necessitating urgent state intervention and rehabilitation assistance.
KU said transportation of tea leaves from Mon district had been severely disrupted due to floods and landslides along the Mon-Assam route, resulting in heavy losses as freshly plucked tea leaves could not be transported to processing units. It also pointed out that the supply of essential commodities into Mon district had been completely disrupted.
The union urged the government to sanction immediate financial compensation, agricultural input subsidies and rehabilitation packages for farmers who had lost jhum fields and submerged plantations, besides extending assistance for damaged houses, properties and loss of lives in accordance with State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms.
Referring to the chief minister’s assurance to expedite restoration works, KU said road and bridge restoration was yet to begin in many areas and appealed to the government to immediately deploy machinery for clearance and restoration, as the efforts of civil society organisations had been exhausted. It said roads connecting Phomching, Aboi, Tobu, Wakching, Naginimora, Tizit and the Mon-Assam route remained inaccessible, and sought urgent government intervention to restore connectivity.
KU unit seeks immediate govt intervention
Konyak Union (KU) Tobu unit has appealed to the state government and the concerned authorities to immediately restore road connectivity to Tobu subdivision after heavy rainfall triggered landslides that cut off the area’s only road link.
KU Tobu unit through its media cell informed that a major landslide occurred about 13km from Tobu-Mon Border Roads Organisation (BRO) road, at the junction connecting to the Tuensang-Longleng Highway.
It said the landslide, coupled with erosion of the Bailey Bridge foundation by the swollen Yetyong River, has rendered the road impassable for vehicles.
KU Tobu unit also said that the road was the only connectivity linking Tobu subdivision, comprising more than 21 villages under Mon district, with Dimapur, Kohima and Assam.
Further, the union said the Tobu-Shinnyu road under PWD had also been hit by landslides, causing severe hardship to residents and disrupting the movement of people and essential supplies.
KU Tobu unit has urged the state government and the concerned departments to immediately clear the landslides, restore traffic movement, repair and reinforce the Bailey Bridge, and stabilise the damaged road sections to ensure safe and reliable connectivity.
Stating that restoration of the roads was critical, the union said timely intervention was necessary to safeguard the livelihood, mobility and well-being of the people of Tobu subdivision and the surrounding villages.