Roadworks and floods

Imlisanen Jamir
 

 

A lot of areas beside the National Highway 29, particularly around the 4th and 5th Mile areas of Dimapur, have a flooding problem. 


One of the causes for it is even more ironic—the ongoing four lane road construction works—one thing which all would agree cannot be completed sooner. 


With the delay in the retreating monsoons this year, rains have become more frequent these days. And with each spell of rain, the single lane which is left to carry the entire traffic on the highway becomes a cesspool. 


A look at the multiple factors related to the road works shows the incongruity of this entire situation.  


Following the latest such flooding incident over the weekend, several factors were attributed as reasons for the recurring flooding by those involved in the road development works. 


Landowners, adjacent to the highway, disallowing passage of rainwater runoff was one; followed by public utilities coming in the way of connecting drainage segments. The third was attributed to an unresolved dispute over the construction of a culvert near the Green Park junction, 5th Mile. In addition, the practice of businesses dumping soil and dirt into low lying areas was cited as another reason for the clogged drains. 


Combine this with certain sections of the road not being allowed to be worked on, and there was visible exasperation as these reasons were laid out by the construction party. 


But there’s a different side to this story too. Communities whose land and infrastructure are directly affected by the ongoing works have their own reasons. From allegedly unresolved compensation issues to an accumulated sense of frustration towards government and private agencies engaged in road works. 


What results here is an absurd cluster of differing factors.  


What needs realization in this quagmire is the urgent need to do everything possible towards facilitating early completion of the project. There’s no way it gets done within the stipulated time period; still there is hope that at least one of the lanes could be completed by the year end.  


It is pertinent for communities, government agencies and the construction firms to build a relationship of trust and cooperation to mitigate this sorry state of our highways.

 

Comments can be sent to imlisanenjamir@gmail.com