Imlisanen Jamir
‘Cross at Your Own Risk’ is written in large bold red letters, yet too many commuters fly past the alarming signage as they cross the slumped Nagarjan Bridge over the Dhansiri in Dimapur.
Last summer witnessed the weather wreaking havoc in this town’s already crumbling infrastructure, with major bridges and several small ones either collapsing completely; or being significantly damaged.
The Nagarjan Bridge, which also sustained major structural challenge, was closed for vehicular traffic for several months. Some repairs seem to have been made at the point of damage; however structural integrity aside, even looking at the walloped surface instils very low confidence at the sturdiness of the bridge.
And the lack of confidence is compounded by the confusing compendium of notices with regard to whether the bridge is really safe for commuters.
In January, after barricades erected by the Kuda Youth Club for public safety was burned down on two occasions by miscreants, the Dimapur Deputy Commissioner issued a notice restricting the crossing of the bridge for both pedestrians and vehicles. Yet the order stopped at the caution that anyone defying the order would be doing so “at their own risk.”
In February the Kuda Village Council, under whose jurisdiction the bridge falls, also issued a notice with the same “at their own risk” caution.
This flowed another statement from the Dimapur District Autorickshaw Driver’s Union (DDADU) which questioned as to whether the bridge was safe for reopening. The DDADU also pointed to the discomforting warning at both ends of the bridge. The union however choose to end their statement on an equally unnerving note stating “they would not claim responsibility for any accidents that may occur at the bridge.”
This shifting of responsibility from every quarter, with no enforcement of any tangible safety or traffic enforcement measures has given rise to a hazardous situation. There has been no news on how the State Government’s assurance to build a new bridge is progressing; nor any clarity on how repairs on the existing bridge were done. Also the summer rains are nearly upon us—the same season last year when calamity struck with the collapse of one major bridge, and Dimapur’s transport nightmare worsened.
With the Nagarjan Bridge route offering the least congested way to town, an increasing number of commuters are choosing to take this gamble—a gamble which could eventually result in very tragic consequences.
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