Slushy tale of 222 km long Imphal-Jiribam stretch continues
Trucks need 4/5 days to cover NH-37
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 01 2012: Thanks to the BRO and the pitiable condition of NH-37, loaded trucks now take 4 to 5 days to reach Imphal from Jiribam which are around 222 Kms apart which means the trucks are travelling at a frustrating speed of 1.85 to 2.3 Kms per hour.

Loaded trucks which reached Gularthol and Old Kaiphundai on July 28 reached Imphal only today.

The trucks which reached Gularthol and Old Kaiphundai numbered around 800 and they were carrying different types of goods.

The trucks were stranded there due to landslide near Makru suspension bridge in the night of July 28 .

Not only the trucks, passenger buses and other four-wheelers coming from Jiribam and Imphal were stranded.

The passengers cross the landslide area on foot and hire vehicles on the other side to reach their destination.

A landslide being cleared on NH-37

A team of media persons including this reporter too had to cross the landslide area on foot and walk for around 5 Kms till Kaiphundai from where they hired a mini-truck to reach Imphal the same night.

When the media team returned to Imphal yesterday, one Tata truck (MN-04A/7962) carrying rice which was among the stranded vehicles as observed by the reporters on their onward journey to Jiribam was found lying askew near Nung Dalan at about noon yesterday.

The mishap not only caused injuries to the driver but also disconnected the highway which is a misnomer given its existing condition.

Later, the fallen truck was pulled away by the BRO using an excavator.

In addition to around 200/300 trucks which were stranded at Nung Dalan, another large convoy of loaded trucks were found parked at Awang Khul waiting for security escorts.

On the other hand, four-wheeler passenger carriers heading for Jiribam from Imphal were stranded at Sibilong.

The truck which turned turtle at Nung Dalan had cement too, besides rice.

This enraged many stranded passengers and they furiously remarked that the truck met with the accident because of over-loading.

It is reported that the trucks which were awaiting security escorts at Awangkul have reached Imphal today.