Sections of the NH 29 stretch between Chathe Bridge to New Chümoukedima damaged by rain. (Photo Courtesy: CYO)
Dimapur, July 20 (MExN): The Chakhroma Youth Organisation (CYO) on Tuesday censured the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited’s (NHIDCL) alleged ‘lackadaisical attitude’ towards safety measures while constructing the 4-lane National Highway-29 between Kohima and Dimapur.
In a press release, the organisation stated that it had made multiple appeals and complaints with regard to inadequate safety measures, inordinately slow progress of work and poor workmanship which has been adding to the misery of citizens. It said that the instability of soil, especially along the stretch between Chathe Bridge to New Chümoukedima, was a known fact and the NHIDCL with its top notch engineers and experts surveyed and determined the basis before construction begun. However, despite the knowledge, it alleged that the NHIDCL have been indifferent to the soil conditions and most of the widening of the road is being made on earth fillings with its bases rooted from the Chathe riverbank.
“The topography of the region requires fresh earth cutting for stability of the road given the river flowing alongside the road but very less earth cutting was done and the road widened on frail earth filling and with the first showers of the monsoon, a great part of the road is washed away and the remaining parts is a liability endangering the lives of thousands of commuters and also threatening the normal life of the citizens,” the release stated.
In this regard, the CYO again, appealed to the concerned authorities and the Government of the day to seriously and sincerely resolve the matter and take appropriate action if the requirements for construction of the National Highway are not fulfilled.
The organisation would be compelled to seek its own course of democratic justice for posterity if the repeated pleas of the people remain unheard and unheeded and the NHIDCL along with ECI would be held responsible for any unprecedented eventualities, the release stated.
