Bamboo bridge in Tizit area of Mon district washed away due to heavy downpour

Nokzang village cut off from other areas

Our Reporter
Dimapur, June 23 (EMN): A heavy downpour on Tuesday evening washed away a temporary bamboo bridge in Tizit area of Mon district, rendering the villagers with no means of connectivity and alternative route to ply.

The bridge was the only lifeline of the Nokzang village under Tizit area.

Sources from the village informed Eastern Mirror that the bamboo bridge known as “Takhui bridge” was one of the sanctioned four RCC T-beam bridges from Tizit to Nokzang but work was not started up yet.

The source added that the inter-state connectivity road from Tizit town via Yanpan-Sakho-Loakkun-Nokzang-Khonsa is yet to be constructed.

For Nokzang village, which is situated in the border of Arunachal Pradesh, the bridge that was washed away on Tuesday was the only means of connectivity with other areas for the villagers.

As per the Nagaland Public Works Department, INR 999 lakh was sanctioned for construction of the four RCC T-beam bridges on the existing road from Tizit (Nagaland) to Khonsa (Arunachal) on Dec. 28, 2015 under the Central Road Fund (CRF) scheme.

However, construction work of the four sanctioned bridges, which were supposed to be built along the stretch of the road, has not been taken up.

“The contractor had given up the work because of financial constraints. The contractor had also requested to revise the estimated cost and to enhance the cost,” the source informed.

In Oct. 2018, the students’ union of Tizit had served a 20-day ultimatum to the government to begin construction of the four RCC T-beam bridges.

The deputy commissioner of Mon, when contacted, said that the administration was waiting for the water to subside, which might take three to four days, to come up with a temporary bridge.

“We will make an estimate, seek the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority’s proposal and then go ahead for a temporary bridge”, the DC said.