Imphal Aug 5 UNA : After more than three weeks of total halt of vehicular movement, normal traffic has been resumed on the Imphal-Dimapur section of national highway from Monday.
The normal movement of freight trucks on this section of the highway remained total halt after a massive landslide on the intervening night of July 12 and 13 near Heritage village, few kilometers from Kohima toward Imphal brought down around 300 meter portion of the highway.
Workers of the 15 Border Road Organisation (BRO) have been put into work day and night in cutting a new road to link up the highway and the same has been motorable today and Imphal-bound freight trucks have started crossing the newly constructed road.
Colonel Tejpal of the 15 BRO had earlier informed to the officials of the Indian Oil Corporation in Imphal about remarkable progress in the making of new road to connect the highway.
The BRTF under 15 BRO has started repair work of the affected portion of the highway since July 16. Later, road was totally blocked since August 2 to spe ed up the process.
The repairing has almost been completed by now, and loaded vehicles have started plying since yesterday, but the formal permission to use the road would only be given from the morning of Tuesday.
Since the cutting of the highway, Manipur has been experiencing petroleum products scarcity as import of these products entirely depend on this route even though other essential commodities were arriving to Imphal on the Imphal-Jiribam section of NH-37.
With the petroleum products stocks fast depleting, IOC authority in Imphal has been compelled to distribute petrol and diesel on ration system to the oil pumps at limited quantities to the retail oil pumps.
This again compelled customers to stand in beeline queue to get limited quantity of petrol and diesel to meet their requirement. A customer with two-wheeler vehicle could get petrol for Rs 350 at one time while f our wheelers light vehicles for Rs 500.
With the informal resumption of traffic, around 100 Imphal-bound loaded trucks including oil tankers and LPG laden trucks have reportedly crossed the newly constructed road and headed for Imphal this late afternoon, an official said, adding that they are likely to reach Imphal late tonight.
On the other hand, at least 101 loaded trucks have arrived Imphal from Jiribam today. The trucks included 19 petrol tankers, 30 diesel tankers, 42 fertilizers, 18 LPG trucks and one kerosene tanker. More trucks are on the way.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/vehicles-start-plying-on-highway/
