Following the directive issued by Nagaland chief minister, Neiphiu Rio to regulate traffic on the Nagarjan bridge, DC Dimapur has requested Commissioner of Police Dimapur to deploy security personnel at Nagarjan bridge to regulate vehicular movement.
In a letter to the Commissioner of Police, DC also informed him that height bars on both sides of the bridge would be erected by EE (R&B) in order to prevent heavy vehicles from plying over the bridge.
As notified earlier, the Nagarjan bridge will be open only for Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) and in order to prevent any mishap, DC has asked EE (R&B) to inspect the bridge at regular intervals to ensure that present state does not worsen and make it unsafe even for LMVs. The Executive Engineer (PWD/R&B) will also work on strengthening the bridge, he added.
When contacted, Executive Engineer (R&B), Er. Talitemsu Jamir told Nagaland Post that the height bars had been erected, but both were brought down by a Tata pick-up. Er. Talitemsu, had gone to the spot to inspect the damage. He told Nagaland Post that he had informed the DC and the police commissioner about the incident and expressed confidence that security personnel would soon be deployed at the location.
According to Er. Talitemsu, chief minister Neiphiu Rio had called a meeting at the CM’s residential office on April 23, where he along with PWD minister, Tongpang Ozukum, DC, Dimapur, Commissioner of Police Dimapur and other officials were present.
Jamir said the issue regarding the use of the Nagarjan bridge was deliberated at length.
While it was expected that the bridge might not collapse since it was supported by multiple piers, the risk was still major.
However, it was decided that since closing the bridge would cause great inconvenience for commuters, it was agreed to put up the height limiting height bars to ensure that only LMVs used the bridge.
During the discussion, the chief minister directed the officials to ensure that heavy vehicles do not use the bridge and to be extra vigilant at night when heavy vehicles, seeking to avoid the main roads, may try to use it.
The CM also directed the DC and Commissioner of Police to take whatever other steps they felt was necessary at their discretion.
Er. Talitemsu also revealed that on October 24 last year, consultant experts based in Delhi, through the chief engineer’s office, had estimated that the bridge could be repaired at about 20 to 25 percent of the cost of a new bridge. The repairs would also increase the life of the bridge by about 35 to 50 years. However, the proposal, for whatever reason, was not pursued by the previous government, Er. Talitemsu said. If the proposal was taken now, the repairs would not be completed before the monsoons he added.