Pothole-filled roads pose grave risks to motorists
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 28 2024: All major roads of Imphal and greater Imphal areas are now in very poor shape and some of them filled with large potholes are posing grave risks to commuters.

Filled with large potholes, the short but very important road from the North AOC traffic point to Chingmeirong traffic point is becoming a road to death.

Likewise, many other major roads of Imphal city have worn out to the extreme due to prolonged inattention of the authorities concerned which was only made worse by the heavy floods which ravaged different parts of Imphal city in July and August this year.

Pothole-filled roads pose grave risks to motorists

With the department concerned paying little attention to the worn out condition of the road from the North AOC traffic point to the Chingmeirong traffic point, the road is now adorned with huge and deadly potholes, and the road surface is littered with gravels and pebbles.

As a result, all two-wheeler riders are highly vulnerable to accidents on this short highway stretch.

Talking about the inconveniences faced by commuters and the general public on the particular road, some people who are running bus/taxi ticket counters at North AOC said that innumerable numbers of all types of vehicles move on the road every day.

It has been seven/eight months since the road from North AOC to Ching-meirong traffic point deteriorated to the extreme.

There were potholes even before the floods.

As the potholes were filled with water every time there was little rainfall, there were several incidents of two- wheeler riders stumbling and bumping into these potholes, they said.

The potholes grew much larger after the extensive flood which ravaged different parts of Imphal and greater Imphal areas in July and August this year.

The floods washed away the bitumen layer leaving the gravel layer exposed and loose.

It is indeed a hard struggle for all commuters to skirt around these huge potholes.

At the same time, many vehicles, particularly two- wheelers, often skidded and fell to the ground while making sharp and not so sharp turns due to the loose layer of gravels.

In the absence of any maintenance work, the potholes are growing larger and deeper.

Whenever there is little rainfall, these potholes transform into small pools of water.

As a result, motorists as well as two-wheeler riders often stumbled and fell into these potholes causing grievous injuries and sometimes death, said the ticket counter operators.

Apart from making commuters highly vulnerable to accidents, the extremely worn out road is also causing severe inconveniences and health hazards to commuters as well as people residing or doing business along the road.

On dry days, the road is filled with thick volumes of dust thereby posing serious health hazards.

There are hospitals including Raj Medicity along the road which means many patients including those in serious conditions are brought along the road.

As such, a large section of people has sought immediate attention of the Government to repair the particular road at the earliest.

One auto-rickshaw driver who operates on Ching-meirong-Imphal City route said that they have been facing severe inconveniences in transporting passengers along the route due to the despicable condition of the road.

"With the Ningol Chakkhouba festival just a few days away, all major roads of Imphal city are becoming quite congested.

We have to struggle really hard to skirt the large potholes but any manoeuvre to skirt the potholes makes vehicles, particularly three-wheelers like diesel auto-rickshaws more vulnerable to accidents", he said.

He said that many diesel autos got severely damaged when they drove over the potholes accidentally at night.

The condition of Mayai Lambi from Haobam Marak to Samurou is no better.

The commuters are facing lots of inconveniences on the 10 Kms long road as the road is narrow whereas the number of vehicles plying on the road is quite large.

One diesel auto driver who operates on Imphal City-Samurou route said that drivers have to be quite skilful and careful while plying on the road as the road is filled with potholes and the road surface is slanted.

The section from Hiyangthang to Samurou is elevated in the middle while the sides are depressed.

As the road surface is slanted, diesel autos sometimes slip when there is rainfall.

Negotiating with buses and trucks coming from opposite direction is also a hard struggle as the road is narrow.

Very often, there are incidents of quarrelling and collisions when some vehicles move on the wrong side of the road, the diesel auto driver said.

Roads or lanes inside Dhanamanjuri University campus are also in very bad shape thereby causing lots of inconveniences to students, teachers and staff alike.

Meanwhile, the Government has started filling up the potholes which adorn the road from Malom to Changangei from today.