Dimapur, July 15 (MExN): Nagaland State Leader of Opposition, TR Zeliang, has written to NHIDCL General Manager, Arun Kumar Gupta, asking for an explanation on why the Dimapur-Kohima journey now takes 3-5 hours compared to the previous 2 hours.
In the letter, sent on Sunday, Zeliang stated that despite a “sanction provision” for the maintenance of the existing 2-lane road, “the general public is suffering and as such, I wish to know from you whether the two firms are complying to the contract agreement.”
The Leader of Opposition was referring to the two firms working on the 4-lane highway, namely, ECI Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. and Gayatri Projects Ltd. He wondered if they had sub let their contracts to second or third parties; if so, their names to be furnished “for transparency.” This had been discussed with TR Zeliang when NHIDCL met him while he was Chief Minister of Nagaland.
“During the course of our interaction in a series of meetings held at the CMO and New Secretariat, Kohima,” Zeliang stated in the letter that he was satisfied with the NHIDCL’s “explanation” (presumably represented by Arun Kumar Gupta) on the agreement entered between NHIDCL and the two firms, both from Hyderabad, with regard to the construction of the 4-lane Dimapur-Kohima highway.
“As per your explanation, we were given to understand that maintenance of existing road was covered under the Contract Agreement while new construction is under execution. However, it is surprising to see that condition of the existing road has been badly affected due to ongoing construction works,” noted the Leader of Opposition.
“Normally, journey from Dimapur to Kohima takes around 2 hours but now due to the prevailing condition, it consumes 3-5 hours causing immense hardship and problems to commuters,” Zeliang emphasized.
