Gadkari pressed for completion of Imphal-Ukhrul Road
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang

Ukhrul, July 13 2024: Echoing the common con cerns and aspirations of the people of Ukhrul district, BJP Manipur State Political Programme & Meetings co-in-charge Michael Shaiza has appealed to the Union minister for road transport & highways Nitin Gadkari for his immediate intervention to complete the long-delayed upgrade and expansion of the NH-202 along the Imphal-Ukhrul route.

"This is my fervent appeal to our Union minister Gadkari for his kind intervention in ensuring completion of the ongoing construction at the soonest," Shaiza told The People's Chronicle in an interaction in Ukhrul town on Saturday.

He said that the project is critical in terms of economic and social benefits for the population of the district, but has languished for years, leading to deterioration of the road.

Emphasising the need to expedite the infrastructure project, he noted that the development of the NH-202 holds significant potential for the district, promising improved connectivity, economic opportunities, and a better quality of life for its residents.

Shaiza continued that the prolonged delay has caused untold hardships to the people, so much so that the situation now calls for actions to ensure early completion, while calling for undivided attention of the Union minister on the matter.

He emphasised that completion of this road is not just a matter of infrastructure development, but a crucial step towards addressing the needs and aspirations of the district and its people.

"Development of Imphal- Ukhrul road to double lane will immensely ease the travellers and transporters," he said.

According to Shaiza, the Imphal-Ukhrul road is among the oldest state highways in Manipur and blacktopping of the same was done back in 1962-63.He further recalled that the road was one of the six state highways which were converted to national highways under NHIDCL back in 2008." This was through the recommendation and hard work of the incumbent Ukhrul MLA Ram Muivah, who was then the principal secretary to the Government of Manipur," he said.

Expressing his concern, he stated that the other five national highways were completed in record time and are now in service, except the Imphal-Ukhrul national highway which is far from completion till date.

Shaiza further drew the attention of the Union minister stating that the contract for the said project has been awarded to a Rajasthan based company, namely M/S Varaha Infra Limited.

However, instead of executing the work itself, Varaha Infra Limited engaged 40 subcontractors.

These subcontractors lacked the necessary machinery and expertise to complete the project effectively.

He noted that colonel John Sheera, did his best to complete the work during his stint as the general manager of NHIDCL Ukhrul, but couldn't due to hiccups in forest clearance and land acquisition parts.

"Initially, the project completion date was set for June 2023, Shaiza noted, adding that it was extended to June 2024, which has now also passed.

Shaiza pointed out that significant delays have been encountered due to forest clearance and land acquisition.

However, with these processes now complete, there are no further excuses for the construction agency to delay the project.

It may be mentioned that this double lane construction project aims to reduce the distance between Yaingangpokpi and Finch Corner from 35 km to 31 km.

Package-1, spanning 16.9 km from Yaingangpokpi to TM Kasom, has an estimated cost of Rs 124.8 crore.

Package-2 covers a distance of 14.7 km and carries an estimated cost of Rs 135.6 crore.

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