The most opportune time
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: July 23 , 2013 -

There could not have been a more opportune time for Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State for Defence, to visit Manipur and see for himself as well as experience the 'hellish' condition of the roads in the landlocked State.

Unlike his predecessor, MM Pallam Raju, who cancelled his road trip to Jiribam at the last minute in April last year, yet assured the public that the road development work along the Imphal-Jiribam road stretch of National Highway 37 by December this year, Jitendra was courageous enough to travel by road from Nungba to Barak to get a firsthand account on the existing condition of Imphal-Jiribam road, and in the process got the rare life-time experience of what it is like to be 'stranded' along a road where even angels would not dare to tread.

With the up and down journey from Nungba to Barak, which is just about 19 kms, taking more than 3 hours, that too, in a four-geared Tata Safari, Jitendra Singh must have got a enough idea on the condition of the road and why the transporters as well as the public have been crying foul against the manner of executing the road development works by the Border Road Organisation (BRO), which is partly under the Defence Ministry, for the last many years.

Perhaps, that may be the reason why the Union Minister shied away from giving any definite deadline on improving the condition of the road, apart from assuring to upgrade the deplorable section of the National Highway 37 to an all weather road at the earliest.

So there, we have yet another assurance from a Union Minister on improving the condition of Imphal-Jiribam road! The importance of the 221-km long road stretch from Imphal to Jiribam, which forms a portion of the National Highway 53 that starts from the junction of National Highway 44 at Badarpur in Assam and covers a distance of just 320 km, out of which around 100 km are in Assam and the remaining falls in Manipur, cannot be denied, specially for the people of landlocked Manipur, who attached strong sentiment to the development of the National Highway stretch befitting its name as well as the purpose.

The location of the nearest railroad of the State at Jiribam has only added to the importance of this route.

However, the mind of the people as well as the Government is drawn to this route only when there is some problem along National Highway 2 (Imphal-Dimapur Road) and transportation of essential goods is disrupted.

Even if there is no bandh or blockade along Imphal-Dimapur Road this time, it is a massive landslide at Phesema in Nagaland which has cut off the supply line to Manipur since the night of July 8 and the Government as well as the people has started realizing the importance of Imphal-Jiribam Road once again.

However, like every time, passing the buck on BRO for negligence in development of the road is not going to serve any purpose at all.

By saying this, we are not implying that BRO has been doing an excellent job.

It is just that one could not expect the BRO to feel the same kind of sentiment that the people of Manipur attached to the Imphal-Jiribam Road.

So, it is for the State Government to have a strong political commitment towards ensuring development of the road and for the people to keep reminding about it.

And, what could be a more opportune time than now, when the Union Minister himself has experienced what it is like to travel along Imphal-Jiribam Road, even if for a short distance of just 19 km.