A scene of a vehicle breaking down, causing other vehicles
to be stranded, on Monday near Mesulumi village.
- KOHIMA — The
ongoing construction of the two-lane road from Kohima to Jessami has been in
the news lately due to the hardships faced by commuters and the aggrieved
landowners demanding compensation, leading to the sealing of the offices of the
implementing agency—National Highways and Infrastructure Development
Corporation (NHIDCL).
- As reported earlier by Eastern Mirror, the Chakhesang
Students’ Union (CSU) had served an ultimatum to the NHIDCL and went to the
extent of sealing the PMU office of the NHIDCL at Pfutsero in connection with
the Kohima-Jessami road package-II, to which the latter responded by clearing
the blockages.
- However, following these events, no further work seems to
have been initiated, as machinery was not seen along the entire stretch in
recent weeks when this newspaper visited both the package-ii area stretching
from Chakhabama to Kikruma village and the package-IV area located near
Mesulumi village.
- When contacted, Lhizulo, a resident of Mesulumi, on Monday
criticised the lackadaisical attitude and the unresolved issues between the
NHIDCL and the contractor executing the project, which have resulted in
bringing the project to a standstill at several locations.
- It was pointed out that package IV, located near Mesulumi
village, is being executed by Keystone Infra Pvt. Ltd. The resident stated that
due to the uneven road, vehicles often break down, including a recent incident
on Monday where a vehicle broke down and stranded other vehicles, bringing
traffic to a halt. They added that neither the administration nor the NHIDCL
and contractor had initiated any work to address the issue.
- It was informed that due to non-compensation for damaged
materials and other properties, the aggrieved landowners had stopped the
executing agencies from continuing their work.
- In this regard, the resident appealed to the district
administration, NHIDCL, and others involved to expedite the process of
resolving the issues to ease the difficulties faced by the public and
commuters. Drivers were also learnt to have frequently complained about the
road, noting that problems have persisted since 2021.
