Kohima-Jessami road: Landowners lock NHIDCL office in Kohima 

KOHIMA — Aggrieved landowners of Kohima-Jessami road on Monday locked the office of the Executive Director (ED) of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) in Kohima.

It may be mentioned that on October 26, the aggrieved landowners had served an ultimatum to the ED (P) NHIDCL; however, upon expiry of the deadline, the NHIDCL did not provide ‘any concrete response’, prompting the agitators to lock the office.

In the ultimatum, the aggrieved landowners of Kohima-Jessami 2-lane road construction packages II, III, IV, and V demanded that the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) make the final compensation payment within a week.

An aggrieved member, Pokhoto, informed Eastern Mirror that following the expiry of the ultimatum, their convener had a telephonic conversation with the ED of NHIDCL as the latter was out of station, and reportedly, over the phone, the ED of NHIDCL said, “Do whatever you want to do,” and cut the call.

This prompted the aggrieved members to take action. The aggrieved members were said to have been demanding compensation for damage to materials, such as houses and other properties, in relation to the 2-lane Kohima-Jessami road. The aggrieved parties have been fighting for their compensation since 2021.

It was also informed that they had met with the “Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Phek, ED NHIDCL, Commissioner, Minister, and legislators over the past three years,” yet nothing concrete has been achieved till date.

It may be mentioned that the executing agency for the Kohima-Jessami road, NHIDCL, has been in the news lately, and not for good reasons. Leading public and student bodies have also questioned the quality of workmanship, safety concerns, and project delays.

Attempts have been made by this newspaper to contact the General Manager of NHIDCL, PMU-Pfutsero, Phek, for a response since October 24, but these attempts have gone unanswered till date.

Also read: Kohima-Jessami road package-2 in limbo as contractor fails to meet deadlines