Of shabby and pot holed roads : Defining Imphal
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 11, 2025 -

On the shabby, pot holes filled roads criss-crossing the length and breadth of Imphal and beyond is writ large the utter failure of the double engine Government.

And the people have every right to be peeved and this is what can be discerned in the ultimatum served by the local clubs, organisations and meira paibis to start the work of repairing the road stretch from Oriental College to Yurembam or Patsoi within 48 hours.

The ultimatum was served in the afternoon of April 9 and even as this commentary is being penned down, 24 hours have already passed. Utter failure of the Government and this should about say it all.

Forget about the people living on the side of Oriental College and Yurembam, but anyone who has had the misfortune of taking the said road stretch out of compulsion will vouch by the volumes of dust encountered while driving or piggy riding through the road stretch.

Volumes of dust and one should understand this description in the context of the dry season currently on and once the sky opens up then it would be mud and slush. And it has been like this since 2021.

It was in the latter part of March this year that Chief Secretary PK Singh personally inspected the condition of the road and directed the DC of Imphal West to get cracking and get the road repaired in good time.

However as things stand today, it has emerged that the road repairing work has been suspended for the past 5 days and this is precisely the reason why the local people of the area have been constrained to serve the deadline of 48 hours.

It is not clear why the road repairing work has been suspended midway but it is more than likely that no explanations were served to the people who have been directly impacted by the shabby state of the road.

At the moment the road stretch from Oriental College to Yurembam or Patsoi is in the limelight but take a look at any of the road running through Imphal and one will get an idea of how the people have been condemned to live in such a piteous state.

The ongoing conflict, the volatile law and order situation could be reasons for the pathetic state of the roads, but this cannot continue to be the alibi for such a long time.

The said road stretch has been in such a state since 2021 and this was long before Manipur went up in flames. So what stopped the needed work to be taken up from 2021 to the period before May of 2023 ?

The answer should lie with the department concerned.

For too long Manipur has had to suffer an ineffective Government which has unfailingly failed to prioritise the need of the people and the ultimatum served to start the road repair work is nothing short of a people whose patience has run out.

At the moment the only road stretches that are fit to be called roads may be the line from MU Gate to Kakching Lamkhai and from Khongnang Ani Karak to the airport.

Other roads are at best just thoroughfares and a look at all the leiraks or bylanes which connect important roads will give a true picture of how Imphal has been left to its own fate while the Government continues to only talk big.

Take a ride down RIMS road or the road from Nagamapal to RIMS and the rot that has come to define Imphal will stand out in all its ugliness in the numerous pot holes that dot this road stretch.

And to think this is a crucial stretch, used as it is by people needing medical attention at RIMS !

Or take the road stretch that connects RIMS to Uripok and horrendous would perhaps be too mild a word.

Take the Waheng Leikai road as another example and as media persons engaged with the task of disseminating information to the people, going through this road stretch, particularly on the western side, in the night can be a nightmarish experience.

It is the same all the way along Nagamapal road till the RIMS crossing.

Just examples that have been cited and which come to mind, but this is not how the capital of a State should be and to think that it was not so long back that making Imphal a Smart City was the line being bandied about to crow the achievement of the Government and nothing can get more farcical than this.

At the moment Manipur is under President’s Rule but the condition of the roads cited here is a continuation from the days when the popular Government was in power here.

To the VVIPs and the rich class who can wheeze around in their SUVs and MPVs the potholes may not mean much but majority of the people do not travel by SUVs or MPVs.

Get that straight.