Nagaland Government Demands NHIDCL Clear National Highway Debris in 72 Hours

KOHIMA: The State Government has expressed serious reservations on National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) contractors after the latter failed repeatedly to take away the debris and reopen traffic on the important National Highway; this came out during the highest level meeting at the Chief Secretary's Conference Hall, Nagaland.

The highway in question is an important link that connects the state capital, Kohima, with several other districts.

This is not the first time NHIDCL has failed to meet expectations despite huge support from the state and the local villagers. Now, the state government of Nagaland has given a strict deadline: NHIDCL, starting immediately, has 72 hours to reopen the highway for regular traffic.

If NHIDCL failed to meet this deadline, the state government would get the work done itself by deploying all the necessary equipment and manpower for clearing the highway and recovering the expenditure from NHIDCL.

Earlier, 17th Chizami Assembly Constituency National People's Party has expressed grave concern over the pathetic condition of Pfutsero-Zhavame road and urged the government for its redressal as early as possible.

It is an arterial road, originating from Nagaland to Manipur, connecting the four important villages and towns, namely Tsüpfüme, Razeba, Zelome, and Zhavame. However, this road has gone through apathy since time immemorial-when there is no repairing or fresh construction in sight at all-which also causes much distress.

Having nursed a sense of grievance for years over what was seen as a step-motherly attitude on the part of the government, for those affected by the community, things seemed to reach a boiling point in 2021.

Phek district: Youths from the Razeba area in the district have been surprised by this idea of crowdfunding and undertook an initiative to patch up 10 critical kilometers of road, naming their project "My Road, My Future." It was a desperate attempt to retain the only lifeline for more than 8,000 inhabitants.

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