NH-37 sinks, trucks stranded

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Aug 10: NH-37 or Imphal-Jiribam highway has been cut off after a 1.5 Km long section sank at Awangkhul on Friday.
The highway section sank following heavy rainfall during the last couple of days, sources said.
With the highway cut off, a large number of  loaded tankers and other trucks which left Jiribam for Imphal on Thursday have been stranded at Nungba.
The loaded trucks and tankers which include a substantial number of LPG bullet tankers are likely to remain stranded at Nungba until the highway is restored, said the sources.
The highway could not be opened till Saturday.
Even as the NHIDCL has been working to restore the sunken portion by excavating earth from the adjoining hills, the local villagers have been saying that no earth should be allowed to slide down below.  
The villagers have been saying that earth removed from the upper levels of the nearby hills, if allowed to slide down below, would bury their crops and vegetables.
As such, NHIDCL’s efforts to restore the sunken section of the highway could not make much progress, the sources said.
On the other hand, Bishnupur-Rengpang road remains cut off after a section of the road sunk in between Toidaijang and Rengpang in the intervening night of July 29 and 30.
Nonetheless, charting out alignment for making a fresh road in lieu of the sunken portion by cutting the hill side has been completed.
The road construction work is  likely to commence   in the next couple of days, according to information received from the State PWD.