Photo Courtesy: nenow
Imphal: Three hundred loaded vehicles are sitting idle on the crippled National Highway-37. Security convoys escorting 109 fuel tankers and 191 supply trucks remain pinned down in Noney district. Treacherous mud turned the road into a parking lot. Drivers are fed up.
The Transporters and Drivers Council plans to drag the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited to court. The group intends to file a Public Interest Litigation to address the highway's failure. They point to 1.3 billion rupees in project funds, with 80 percent of that budget already burned through. Despite the spending, stretches at Kaiphundai, Shantikhunou, Barak, Nungba, Rengpang, and Irang are impassable.
NHIDCL blamed the mess on traffic spikes since the May 2023 conflict, but the transporters are not buying it. TDC president Hijam Ranjit stated, "NHIDCL's claim that the entire project will be completed by December 2026 has been met with deep skepticism by transporters." They argue that neighboring states manage higher traffic volumes on similar roads without incident.
A trip that should take five hours now drags on for days. While the state police have established 114 checkpoints to secure transport, the physical road remains a disaster. Transporters demand immediate repairs to standard specifications. They warned that legal action is coming unless they see real work on the ground.
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