Correspondent
IMPHAL, MAY 12
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]round 400 goods laden trucks bound for Imphal have been stranded at Jiribam town in Manipur’s Imphal East district bordering Cachar district of Assam, due to the indefinite chakka bandh on popular Imphal-Jiribam route or National Highway 7.
Reports from Jiribam town, 222km west of Imphal said that the chakka bandh was called by the Joint Forum for Transport Welfare, Tamenglong. The joint forum is demanding improvement of 40km-long Tamenglong-Khongsang road and their 48-hours deadline has been expired and imposed the bandh since May 7.
Despite repeated pleas and reminders to the authorities concerned, the construction of the narrow but important Khongsang to Tamenglong by the BRTF has been allegedly delayed. The Forum had submitted a memorandum on April 17, to the State Government in this regard, it added.The forum has also prohibited normal activities of private companies engaged in the Jiri-Tupul railway construction work. In view of the development, around 400 goods trucks including 182 rice laden trucks, around 100 cement carrying trucks and other food grain trucks have been stranded since then, reports added.
So far there is no immediate plan to provide security escorts for the stranded vehicles to ply on the highway. However, representatives of the forum are likely to hold talks with the government authorities at the state chief secretary’s office in Imphal tomorrow to bring an amicable solution to their demands, etc. Sources available here said the move to hold talks was initiated by the Tamenglong MLA Janghemlung Panmei at the Tamenglong district headquarters, about 150 km west of Imphal today.
