Allow Nature to Heal and Restore: On Dimapur-Kohima NH-29

In the midst of the recent monsoon rains across Nagaland leading to landslides, flash floods and rock falls, the damage to man-made infrastructure and assets such as roads and bridges was widely publicised in the media. And as usual, the main Dimapur-Kohima National Highway-29 is almost completely cut-off.

But in the rush of life and the need to clear the rubbles and hurriedly reconnect our roads, we are perhaps not listening to what nature is trying to tell us. The cuts and bruises that our development projects have inflicted upon the land is slowly destroying the inherent strength and foundation of our unique land and geography.

Can we stop for a moment and allow nature to heal and restore our mountains, valleys and rivers? We need a relook of development policy where proper environment impact assessment is done so that we can build that lasts.

The story in the Bible about the ‘house built on the rock’ which did not fall even though ‘the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew’, it stood the test of time. A food for thought!

Along Longkumer

Former Editor