Road block protests Govt apathy, deadline set
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, October 13 2021: Local people of Moirang on Wednesday blocked the road stretch from Moirang Lamkhai to Moirang Kei-thel, which is one of the most important road stretches in the state frequented by tourists from all over the world, in protest against the government's alleged failure to repair the road.

They have also set deadline of October 20 to begin repairing of the road failing which they will block the road indefinitely from the following day.

A woman protestor told The People's Chronicle that the road renovation project was sanctioned under NISID but the project has been left incomplete for too long without any apparent reason.

With increasing volume of traffic, people living in the area are facing health issues due to the dusty road.

They have approached the authority concerned to look into the matter and repair the road.

Miffed by the apathy of the government, the shop owners and vendors in Moirang Lamkhai area spontaneously gathered on Wednesday morning and blocked the road, she said.

Another protestor said that Moirang is the most important tourist spot of the state but the road stretch has always been in dilapidated condition.

Sometime back, the road renovation work started but it stopped after laying shingles leaving a dusty road, much to the dismay of people of the area as well as numerous tourists who come to visit Loktak Lake.

The local MLA is also turning a blind eye in this regard, the protestor said while pointing out that sprinkling water instead of blacktopping the road will not resolve the issue.

The lightning bandh caused traffic disruption and passenger vehicles as well as private vehicles remained stranded.

Later, a team of Moirang police and Bishnupur district CDO along with women personnel came and opened the road after a talk.

The protestors then set a deadline of October 20 to start the road renovation work failing which they warned of blocking the road indefinitely from the next day onwards.

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