BHANDARI, APRIL 28 (MExN): The 40 Bhandari Assembly Constituency Congress Committee (ACCC) on Monday objected to a proposed move by the Nagaland Government to alter the original Foothills Road alignment, excluding the entire Changpang Block, calling it "utterly shocking, unacceptable and a betrayal" of the 2013 agreement endorsed by the 12 Nagaland Apex Hoho organizations.
In a press release, 40 Bhandari ACCC President Rhanlamo Lotha said the exclusion of 27 villages in Changpang Block from the foothills road project violated the agreement between the Government of Nagaland and the Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC).
The ACCC also expressed dismay that the NFHRCC was not invited to the consultative meeting scheduled for April 30, 2025, convened by the state government to discuss the road project. "Excluding the NFHRCC at this juncture shows the insincerity on the part of the department concerned," the statement said. It further warned that "any decision taken without the involvement of the NFHRCC on the historic Nagaland Survival Road shall be termed invalid."
Calling for public solidarity beyond political affiliations, the 40 Bhandari ACCC urged citizens to demand accountability and justice for dignified road infrastructure across the state. It appealed to the government not to take "any arbitrary decision" on the foothills road project against the wishes of the people of the Lotha Lower Range in particular and the Nagaland public in general.
