Social media outrage throws up a surprise: INR 84 cr. for rural roads in Tizit

First-phase funds show respite for road-less hamlet

Henlly Phom
Dimapur, April 15 (EMN): Zangkham village in Tizit of Mon district was viral on social media recently following photographs showing some persons carrying a sick person on a bamboo carrier purportedly on their way from the village to Assam for ‘treatment.’

According to social media Zangkham is the ‘biggest village’ in Tizit but has no communication, water supply, or health centre facilities.

The social media circulation provoked outrage from people. A concerned citizen, Shemphoa Bohham of Zangkham village, reached out to Eastern Mirror recently. He maintained that the village, which borders Arunachal Pradesh, was one of the biggest villages in Tizit but for decades had no roads to Tizit.

“The sick and injured are carried on a bamboo carrier by strong young men because of connectivity problem which was left unattended for decades,” Bohham said. Nonetheless, he said although the plight of the village had attracted concern, it also had drawn negative criticism putting the village in poor light which may also effect the two lane highway project which is soon to commence.’

Concerned by the impact of the viral circulation, Bohham offered a copy of a road project dated Oct. 30 2017 addressed to the commissioner-secretary for Works and Housing, from the ministry of Road and Highways. The letter purports to be for the construction of a two-lane road with paved shoulder from Tizit to Zangkham-Pumao via Sangsa (phase I: from Tizit (km 0) to Zangkham (km 20) through a interstate-connectivity scheme for Nagaland for the fiscal 2017-2018.

The funds for the road project according to the letter was INR 84.85 cr. for the first phase. It mentions that the physical and financial cumulative targets shall have be achieved depending on the availability of funds for 2017-18.

“The two lane highway project has already been sanctioned by the government which will start shortly.

The tender formalities and all the paper works have been completed,” Bohham said. He was concerned that the work project might be hindered if criticism, such as the one following the social media grows and people just might take undue advantage of the situation.