ZhokusheyiRhakho
Phek Town
Drawing the attention of BRO/GREF and the general public, the NH 29 (Kohima to Jessami) has been in horrible condition as though this country is reeling under financial emergency or fighting an external war. The better roads has become worse and the worse roads has gone even worse. One wonder if there is a dearth of technology or machineries to keep the road good in the hills. Back in 1990s, the roads were better but it had become worse at the fag end of 2020. It’s funny that we are going backward when the whole world is going forward. This must be the only place where the national highway has become worse than a village road. For obvious reason, everyone expect National Highways to be better and an example to others but sadly this is not so. Nothing looks national or high out here. The only high thing about this Highway is that it traverse through high hills.
Heavy trucks getting stuck or sliding down the road has become a usual affairs during monsoon. Once the goods reaches its destination, prices goes sky rocketing because of high transportation cost due to bad road. It is funny that Kohima to Phek with a distance of 145km takes more than 6 hours to travel due to bad road which is the same time span to reach Shillong from Dimapur with a distance of 340 km.
Generally speaking, this is a state and region where sense of alienation from Central Government is rift because of reasons obvious to all and the very Central Government department is making it worse through its negligence and indifference. Our village Councils must write directly to the Prime Minister on this state of affairs. Two-lane expansion seems to be coming soon, it’s imperative to keep the road pliable, for going by the experience elsewhere, the condition often get worse.
The road has become so bad that at some stretch hardly small cars can ply, and especially between Pfutsero and Lanye, there is hardly a stretch where one can drive for straight 30 seconds without maneuvering a pothole; can anyone believe that?The sad part is that it’s still not an issue that merits political parties or sacrosanct civil organizations to voice its concern despite the terrible hardship caused to common people. Another sad part is that even where the road run straight through our villages and towns, we have the least compunction to mend even the smallest of potholes. Maybe the only time when we will have good road is when it first starts inside our mind.
