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Stretches of road along NH-702D (Mokokchung-Mariani road) clicked during an on-spot inspection by MDTOA officials on November 17, 2017.[/caption]
Dimapur, Nov. 19 (EMN): The Mokokchung District Truck Owners’ Association (MDTOA) has announced what it stated was ‘a chakka bandh’ – restriction of all commercial vehicles (trucks and pick-ups) from plying the Mokokchung-Mariani road as well as the Mokokchung-Amguri road, starting November 21 next. The association issued a press release on Sunday informing of the decision.
It also called out the Executive Engineer of PWD National Highway Division – II, Mokokchung for giving a ‘false report’ on the condition of National Highway 702D (Marani-Mokokchung road) to the deputy commissioner of Mokokchung claiming ‘vehicles are plying very well’. The association was ‘totally appalled over the blatant lie’, it stated.
“The MDTOA officials, along with representatives from the Mokokchung Town Lanur Telongjem (MTLT) and Mokokchung District Pick-up Truck Union, went for an on-spot inspection and found that the official letter by the Executive Engineer to the Deputy Commissioner, Mokokchung is nothing but a blatant lie, and the road condition is not only pathetic but also dangerous to ply. Therefore, the MDTOA strongly censures the letter of the Executive Engineer ‘NO: EE/MKGNH/T-53/1092 Dated Mkg the 10th of Nov 2017’. The association also cautions the Executive Engineer not to mislead the public, or for that matter the Deputy Commissioner, on such important issue where lives and livelihood of the people are at stake,” the statement read.
It rejected the Deputy Commissioner’s request to extend the deadline it had submitted earlier by an additional 10 days. “Here, MDTOA has undertaken the roads-inspection. There is no road improvement works at present. Moreover, the MDTOA has given a memorandum on October 30, 2017 with regard to the same issue.
“There was no official reply from the district administration. After that, the MDTOA served an ultimatum on November 14th, 2017 stipulating till the 20th of November for the concerned authorities (sic) to improve the road,” it stated.
Citing ‘no tangible improvement, apparent lackadaisical attitude of the authorities, and the blatant lie of the Executive Engineer’, the association announced its decision to impose the restriction. It asserted that the association has waited enough for the authorities to repair the roads.
“While the MDTOA also understands the imminent plight of the people due to the chakka bandh, the Association requests the general public to kindly bear with the inconveniences caused. The MDTOA asserts that the trucks owners are incurring heavy losses due to the bad road conditions; even the trucks cannot carry their full loads, and the vehicles undergo heavy repairing after every trip”.
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