Fresh landslide cut-off NH-37

A fresh landslide once again halted vehicular movement along Imphal-Jiribam section of NH-37 completely on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of Imphal-bound goods-laden trucks stranding midway.
Reports said that the fresh massive landslide struck the NH-37 today afternoon, around 3pm between Awangkhul and Langkhong villages in Noney district.
If not cleared, the massive landslide is likely to hit the supply of essential commodities in the flood devastated Manipur as Imphal-Dimapur section of NH-2, the other key supply route, remained cut-off in Nagaland.
The fresh landslide occurred just two days after the normal traffic was restored after clearing debris of landslides at various locations along the stretch which is the second lifeline of the state.
Soon after the landslide occurred, authorities manning the highway swung into action to clear the debris and restore traffic. However, it was hindered due to continuous rainfall in the areas, reports said.
However, if the weather permits, the authorities expect to complete the clearance work by tomorrow.
Despite reports of NHIDCL working to restore the road, Manipur based drivers’ bodies have initiated works to construct a bypass road while alleging that no work to restore the normal traffic was taken up till date.
Drivers’ bodies in Imphal along with their counterparts in Senapati district took the initiative to construct the bypass road.
For the work, Manipur Drivers’ Association (MDA) today handed over one JCB, a recovery van and three ambulances to the Senapati based drivers’ bodies.
MDA functionaries handed over the machinery to the representatives of the Senapati Truck Owners’ Association, Senapati District Truck Drivers’ Union and Manipur Gorkha Motor Workers’ Welfare Union today at the office of the MDA at Sekmai in Imphal.
According to the drivers’ bodies, the proposed 25 km bypass road would start NH-2 from Kohima via Phesama and then pass through Tadubi of Manipur to connect the NH-2 again.
The portion of the highway remained cut-off since May 31 and no authority took up to restore the road till date, the drivers’ bodies alleged.
Talking to the reporters while handing over the machinery, MDA general secretary Ksh Sanjoy said that numerous trucks, both goods-laden and empty, were stranded midway on both NH-37 and NH-2 due to landslides and mudslides at multiple locations.
This not only caused immense inconveniences to the stranded truckers but also fear of shortage of essential commodities across Manipur.
Considering these factors, the drivers’ bodies decided to construct the bypass road at their own expenses, he added.