Foothill Road receives a cut

Staff Reporter DIMAPUR, DECEMBER 21 THE making of the Foothill Road began in right earnest this week. The activity on the long felt need for better connectivity has been over fifty years in the making. Not surprisingly the cutting of the first stretch of road at Zero Point, in Longtho Valley Mokokchung was well attended, by the Nagaland Foot-Hill Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC), along with representatives from 10 tribes, various village councils, church leaders and others.The relief is all the more apparent as the memory of the Assam bandh earlier this year ensured untold inconvenience on commuters. 45-years old Sashi from Longtho village,remembers those days only too well. His wife suffered from a serious medical condition and was subjected to an arduous and treacherous journey on the route from Mokokchung to Dimapur via Kohima The fresh cutting of road will be carried out in two sectors in Mokokchung, namely from Zero Point, Longtho, to Changki Agri Link road, measuring approximately 2.5km, This will connect Wokha sector via the Changki Agri Kink road. The second Yajang sector, east of Longtho where the road to be to be cut is 3-4km long, will connect Tuli sector on the way to Tizit in Mon district via the Longleng sector.from Longtho Valley (Mokokchung) . This will connect to the Wokha sector via the Changki Agri Link road. The activity on the long felt need for better connectivity has been over fifty years in the making.Not surprisingly Other districts such as Wokha and Mon sectors,will have to wait next year for construction to begin. Wokha will need 48km of fresh cutting to get the road started. A two-lane Bailey bridge in the Doyang sector is on the anvil to reduce construction time and should be ready within a year. The role of the Foot-Hill Road will be a State highway of sorts. It will connec one end of Nagaland to the other—Dimapur to Tizit—without the compulsion or pressure of having to pass through every village on its way. “The Foot-Hill Road was a long-felt need for us,” said Lima, Superintending Engineer (R&B Division, Mokokchung), reiterating that “we have a long way to go.” Most state maintained roads in Nagaland are “connectivity roads,” connecting human inhabited areas (villages). The Road will be a State highway of sorts, connecting one end of Nagaland to the other—Dimapur to Tizit—without the compulsion or pressure of having to pass through every village on its way. Estimated at a cost of Rs. 1000 crore, Rs. 40 crore has already been sanctioned for the project, and the money has been given to the Public Works Department (Roads and Bridges).