Review meeting of the National Highways work in North Eastern States
Ibobi seeks fund for land acquisition for Imphal by pass
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 02 2013 : Chief Minister Okram Ibobi has sought the attention of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes to allocate adequate fund for construction of Imphal by-pass so that the procedure for land acquisition can be initiated at the earliest.

Speaking at a review meeting of the National Highways work in North Eastern States at Admisnitrative Staff College, Guwahati today where DoNER Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar was also present, Ibobi pointed out that three National Highways pass through the heart of Imphal city causing heavy congestion of traffic resulting in great deal of inconvenience and delay to both the urban and highway traffic.

Acknowledging that the Ministry has allocated Rs one crore for feasibility study of the by-pass, Ibobi asserted that the acquisition process for Imphal by-pass needs to be taken up speedily before it is too late and cost of compensation becomes exorbitantly high.

Ukhrul-Jessami route another highway which can be upgraded for better connectivity

Conveying that restoration work of the Imphal-Dimapur highway stretch which sank at Phesama on the night of July 12 is going to take nearly one month, which has resulted in scarcity of essential commodities including fuel in the State, Ibobi reminded that the Ministry has been apprised of the need for an alternative alignment so that the connectivity of the State with the mainland is not disrupted due to the sinking zones seen along the present alignment of the highway.

One option for by-passing the sinking zones is to upgrade the existing road between Chumukedima near Dimapur, Peren in Nagaland and Maram in Manipur on NH-39, as National Highway, said the Manipur Chief Minister.

He also urged the Ministry to appoint a consultant or allow the State PWDs to engage the same for conducting feasibility study for suitability of the proposal.

Highlighting that NH-39 and NH-53 are the only life lines of the State out of which NH-39 has frequently been blocked due to bandhs, blockades and sinking at various sections, and when traffic on NH-39 is disrupted due to the above reasons, the availability of essential commodities in Manipur solely depends on NH-53 .

However, the existing bailey suspension bridges at Barak and Makru rivers on NH-53 are old and the gross load of vehicles passing through these bridges has been restricted to 18 tonnes.

Moreover, construction of Jiribam-Imphal railway requires transportation of equipment and machinery weighing over 18 tonnes.

Given this situation, it is urgently required to construct RCC bridges over Barak and Makru rivers, Ibobi stated.

The Chief Minister also appealed to the Ministry to entrust more length of National Highways passing though the State to the State PWD as it will definitely reduce the work load of the BRO.

The Chief Minister said that Tadubi to Ukhrul was declared as NH-102 A, Churachandpur-Singhat-Sinzawl to Tuivai as NH-102-B and Khongsang to Tamenglong as NH-137 in 2012 and were entrusted to the BRO.

However, fund for feasibility study for the above roads is allocated to the State PWD.

As this arrangement is creating administrative inconveniences, the Ministry may consider entrustment of both feasibility study and execution to one agency only.

Further, the actual start of improvement is expected to take time and therefore the ministry may consider allocation of maintenance fund to keep these roads traffic worthy.

"The ministry may also consider extension of NH-137 (Newly declared) from Tamenglong (Manipur) to Haflong (Assam) through Tousem and Jiri river (border with Assam) having an approximate length of 100 Km.

The proposal shall improve the connectivity within and outside the state as this additional Highways will have direct connectivity with East West corridor of the country at Haflong (Assam)", Ibobi stated.

In view of the India's Look East policy, improvement of NH-39 (old) as part of the Trans-Asian highways is a must and the Ministry should give a serious throught to upgradation of the National Highways in the state to 4-lane standard in phases.

The Chief Minister also urged for upgradation of the Imphal�Mayang-Imphal road.

Stating that the State Government is submitting a proposal in this regard, Ibobi appealed to the Ministry to consider the proposal positively.

The portion of NH-150 (New NH-202) from Lamlong Bazar to North AOC is a bottle neck and widening is practically difficult as the stretch runs on the river bund of Imphal river.

The stretch is also densely populated.

As such, the State Cabinet recommended to realign this stretch of the highway from Lamlong Bazar to North AOC as Lamlong Bazar to Kongnang Ani Karak(1.743 Km) at NH-39 .

Informing that construction/development work of Khongsang-Tamenglong road and Pallel-Chandel is yet to be started, Ibobi urged the Ministry to ensure that these works are taken without any further delay.