IMPHAL, August 2: All round despair around marks the state on the morrow of being hit by heavy monsoon rain, mud slides, sinking roads and land sliding tremors. Vehicular traffic on National Highway 2 sector connecting Imphal and Moreh have also stood still since yesterday because of landslides at more than 20 places and sinking road at different places affecting cross border trade severely.
Taking stock of the calamity, Minister Works & Transport Dr Kh Ratan Kumar Singh along with a media team visited Mayang Imphal is own constituency and inspected water leaking areas like Mayang Imphal Chabung Company Mayai Leikai, Chirai Mayai Leikai where the roads have partly sunk making ways for flood water to overflow from the Imphal River.
The furious torrents of Sekmaijin River had also given a sleepless night to the people of Phabakchao Bazar. Suspension bridge constructed on Sekmaijin River during 1973 was also flooded by the over flowing river currents.
Many people in the area were seen camping out on roads fearing of flooding their houses.
The Nambu River in the Mayang Imphal stretch was also swollen creating fear at Upokpi Khunou.
Later the minister drove towards Tengnoupal on the Imphal-Moreh road to take stock of the calamities created by the cloudbursts. The tour was accompanied by Minister IFCD Ngamthang Haokip and Tengnoupal MLA DK Korungthang and other PWD officials.
Tell-tale evidences of mud slides in between Patbung and Chelep of Chandel along Tengnoupal Sangsak Road during the journey.
After taking a long walk along the highway and inspecting the deteriorated road condition, Minister Ratan briefed the media and said that nature has not been kind to the state at the moment. The sliding of mud and cracks on road might have been triggered by a slight earthquake, he said.
He also observed that the natural calamity has forced vehicular movement along the Imphal-Moreh roadto shut down for the moment. He added excavators are being deployed to tow away the landslides to ensure traffic returns to normal at the soonest. He said that some places have seen worse disasters.
Further down the road, a two feet wide crack which had developed on the road approaching the Mahadev Temple has during the day caved in and portion of the road fell of the hillside. Ratan said that at these areas roads have to be cut and this could take time. He said he will have concerned engineers of his department work to come up with a comprehensive report at the soonest.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/08/minister-works-tours-flood-and-landslide-affected-areas-to-take-stock-of-damages/