Locals repair Patsoi Lamkhai-Longa Koireng road
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 01 2013: With nearly three decades of waiting for the Government to undertake road repairing work not materialising, locals today repaired the Sangaithel road from Patsoi Lamkhai to Longa Koireng village.

The Sangaithel road serving as an important link for several villages under Lamshang, Sekmai, Patsoi and Saitu Assembly Constituencies had been lying neglected with some villagers recounting that black topping was done for the last time about 30 years back.

Frustrated over the Government's prolonged negligence of the said road the locals decided to form 'Sangaithel Road Development committee' and started to collect donation from the villagers, said Committee president Likmabam Tompok adding that the villagers left their respective normal chores to undertaken road repairing work today.

On official record the same road is known as Sagolband-Maklang road and upgraded from old district road to 'major district road.

Local people repairing road

describing the road section from Patsoi Lamkhai to Longa Koireng village which is a little over 9 kilometres as the worst, Tompok said regular plying of heavy vehicles due to presence of many brick fields along the said road stretch is one of the factors for dilapidation of the road.

While alleging that the local MLA did not respond positively when approached to contribute his mite in the road repairing work, Tompok said pradhans of awang Khunou and Maklang gram panchayats generously extended donation to the Committee.

Informing that if the road stretch could be maintained properly the distance from Patsoi to Keithelmanbi along the Imphal-Jiri road (NH-37) would be shorter by about 10 kilometres, the president also desired that the road section be upgraded to the status of a State highway.

He also confided that MLAs of the four assembly constituencies would be urged to prevail upon the works Minister to initiate necessary road repairing/development works at the earliest.

The road repairing work comprised of the villagers filling huge craters with rock and sand/mud composition.

Eight trucks and two excavators were also used for the said task.