Mokokchung | October 22 : Nagaland’s second busiest highway, the Mokokchung-Mariani border road, since October 17 has not seen any truck plying on it as the Assam based Hills Area Truck Owners’ Association (HATOA) have imposed a “chaka bandh.” The truckers claim that they will not drive up the hills of Nagaland so long as the road condition is not improved. This particular road, maintained by the Border Roads Organization (BRO), is the life-line of Nagaland’s Mokokchung, Tuensang and Zunheboto districts as well as parts of Longleng and Wokha districts.
The Deputy Commissioner of Mokokchung, Lithrongla G Chishi when contacted said that she is in constant contact with the BRO and added that she has requested the BRO to expedite their work. She had on Friday morning gone down towards Changki herself to take stock of the situation. She was of the opinion that the BRO should not only repair the portions of road damaged by landslides but that the whole stretch of the road must be repaired.
“Unprecedented rainfall this year has caused lot of damage to the roads but the BRO should have done timely supervision and improvisation,” she regretted. She also observed that the road was in such bad shape that it is “hazardous for loaded trucks, passenger vehicles and transports ferrying sick patients” to travel on this road. She also expressed regret that the people were in the dark about whether funds have been allocated for the road or not.
It remains to be seen if and when the HATAO will pull out of their stance but it is clearly evident that essential commodities in the aforementioned districts will run out of stock anytime now. No spokesperson of the HATAO was immediately available for comments but it is learnt from sources that, owing to the bad road conditions, plying commercial trucks on this road at the moment is not viable from the business point of view.
“The members of HATAO are mostly the traders themselves. The traders incur heavy losses because they spent considerable amount of money in vehicle maintenance.
The rates fixed by the Regional Transport Authority in public interest cannot be followed when the roads are so taxing,” said Moasangba, the vice-president of Mokokchung Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI). The truckers incur heavy losses owing to wear and tear of their vehicles. He also cited the example of fuel consumption.
“Earlier, trucks plying from Jorhat to Mokokchung consumed 120 liters of diesel. Now, thanks to the pathetic road condition, a truck consumes 160 liters of diesel to come up to Mokokchung from Jorhat.”
The MCCI vice-president also expressed that he supports the HATAO and said that the BRO must through mass media declare the budget allocation received for maintaining the road. He said that the BRO has since 2009 neglected the road and expressed strong revulsion against the Commanding Officer of the BRO for “not even having the courtesy to approach the HATAO on the matter.”
He disclosed that the HATAO members have been trying to meet the Commanding Officer but “he ignored them.” Moasangba also claimed that the BRO must not only repair the sinking areas and clear the land-slides but that the whole stretch of the road must be repaired. “It is a road under the defense ministry. It should be at its best,” he added.
The condition of Mokokchung-Mariani road, which is about 85 kilometers, is worst in the Changki village area. A stretch of about 5 kilometers, starting from Changki Junction to Mekokla Link Road is the worst hit. The road along this stretch is almost not pliable for vehicles. This stretch also happens to be an accident-prone area. There are 5 major landslide areas in this stretch and the road remains wet almost throughout the year. It also lacks any drainage system which contributes in deteriorating the road condition.
There are two perennial sinking areas along the Mokokchung-Mariani border road. About 50 kilometers away from Mokokchung, towards Mariani, there is a sinking area under Chanki territory. The other sinking area is the one under Chungtia village territory, about 20 kilometers away from Mokokchung. Apart from the two major sinking areas, it was found that there were 8 landslide areas under Changki
territory, 2 under Chungtia territory and 1 under Aliba village territory. The whole stretch of the road is barely 12 feet wide, which is too narrow for even small vehicles to cross, let alone the trucks and other commercial/passenger vehicles. BRO labourers working in the two major sinking areas told this correspondent that it will take at least another week to complete their job of constructing the retaining
walls and filling it up with boulders.
BRO labourers were seen constructing retaining walls to constrict both of the two perennial sinking areas. Some were also found constructing drainage bunds and filling up pot-holes. But there was no sign of any preparation for black-topping the road. No public pressure has been heard voiced against the authority concerned in recent times for the poor upkeep of this vital road.
The Deputy Commissioner of Mokokchung, Lithrongla G Chishi when contacted said that she is in constant contact with the BRO and added that she has requested the BRO to expedite their work. She had on Friday morning gone down towards Changki herself to take stock of the situation. She was of the opinion that the BRO should not only repair the portions of road damaged by landslides but that the whole stretch of the road must be repaired.
“Unprecedented rainfall this year has caused lot of damage to the roads but the BRO should have done timely supervision and improvisation,” she regretted. She also observed that the road was in such bad shape that it is “hazardous for loaded trucks, passenger vehicles and transports ferrying sick patients” to travel on this road. She also expressed regret that the people were in the dark about whether funds have been allocated for the road or not.
It remains to be seen if and when the HATAO will pull out of their stance but it is clearly evident that essential commodities in the aforementioned districts will run out of stock anytime now. No spokesperson of the HATAO was immediately available for comments but it is learnt from sources that, owing to the bad road conditions, plying commercial trucks on this road at the moment is not viable from the business point of view.
“The members of HATAO are mostly the traders themselves. The traders incur heavy losses because they spent considerable amount of money in vehicle maintenance.
The rates fixed by the Regional Transport Authority in public interest cannot be followed when the roads are so taxing,” said Moasangba, the vice-president of Mokokchung Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI). The truckers incur heavy losses owing to wear and tear of their vehicles. He also cited the example of fuel consumption.
“Earlier, trucks plying from Jorhat to Mokokchung consumed 120 liters of diesel. Now, thanks to the pathetic road condition, a truck consumes 160 liters of diesel to come up to Mokokchung from Jorhat.”
The MCCI vice-president also expressed that he supports the HATAO and said that the BRO must through mass media declare the budget allocation received for maintaining the road. He said that the BRO has since 2009 neglected the road and expressed strong revulsion against the Commanding Officer of the BRO for “not even having the courtesy to approach the HATAO on the matter.”
He disclosed that the HATAO members have been trying to meet the Commanding Officer but “he ignored them.” Moasangba also claimed that the BRO must not only repair the sinking areas and clear the land-slides but that the whole stretch of the road must be repaired. “It is a road under the defense ministry. It should be at its best,” he added.
The condition of Mokokchung-Mariani road, which is about 85 kilometers, is worst in the Changki village area. A stretch of about 5 kilometers, starting from Changki Junction to Mekokla Link Road is the worst hit. The road along this stretch is almost not pliable for vehicles. This stretch also happens to be an accident-prone area. There are 5 major landslide areas in this stretch and the road remains wet almost throughout the year. It also lacks any drainage system which contributes in deteriorating the road condition.
There are two perennial sinking areas along the Mokokchung-Mariani border road. About 50 kilometers away from Mokokchung, towards Mariani, there is a sinking area under Chanki territory. The other sinking area is the one under Chungtia village territory, about 20 kilometers away from Mokokchung. Apart from the two major sinking areas, it was found that there were 8 landslide areas under Changki
territory, 2 under Chungtia territory and 1 under Aliba village territory. The whole stretch of the road is barely 12 feet wide, which is too narrow for even small vehicles to cross, let alone the trucks and other commercial/passenger vehicles. BRO labourers working in the two major sinking areas told this correspondent that it will take at least another week to complete their job of constructing the retaining
walls and filling it up with boulders.
BRO labourers were seen constructing retaining walls to constrict both of the two perennial sinking areas. Some were also found constructing drainage bunds and filling up pot-holes. But there was no sign of any preparation for black-topping the road. No public pressure has been heard voiced against the authority concerned in recent times for the poor upkeep of this vital road.
