NST services to Kiphire still on — Officials

Eastern Mirror Desk Dimapur, May 3: In response to the statement made by the Citizens’ Welfare Society of Kiphire (CWSK) about the unavailability of Nagaland State Transport (NST) bus services from Kiphire to Kohima, officials of Kiphire NST have clarified that bus services are still functioning. The CWSK, in a  press release issued on May 1, had stated that ‘the only service available to reach the state capital (Kohima) which is 352 km away, has no NST service since a month back, citing some technical issue.’ To clarify the allegations made, Eastern Mirror contacted the station superintendent of Kiphire, L Meshu Khiam. He responded that the bus services are operational. “The bus from Kohima will be arriving on Saturday (today) and will leave for Kohima again on the same day,” he said. The official admitted that the services do stop if the vehicles break down; and said that there are times when they have no passengers. “If the bus condition is good, and if there are enough passengers, the bus will ply,” he added. “There are very few passengers who ply from Kohima to Kiphire; sometimes only one or two passengers. But since we do mail services, we are bound to continue the bus service even if the buses are empty,” he explained. He also informed that ‘if the bus breaks down in Kiphire, it will have no service in Kohima for the next trip and vice versa.’ It was reported that there were no passengers on account of the election in the month of April. This was the reason why the buses could only offer three to four trips during the whole month. Expressing disappointment at how the matter has been publicised, he said that such issues must be confirmed and clarified from the officials of the department before publishing in news outlets. Also, the CWSK had expressed surprise that the NST service between Tuensang and Kohima was completely stopped a few years ago. In response, the station superintendent of Tuensang, S Meju, said that “the bus service is functioning.” He admitted that the buses are not regular as it breaks down occasionally, mainly due to poor road condition. He also said that there are insufficient passengers. “The statement made against us is very wrong. It has not been not suspended. Moreover, we (NST Tuensang) are the ones who dispatch mails from India Post so there is no chance for us being suspended for such a long period of time,” he clarified. The official said that there is a separate bus for Tuensang and Kohima. “If a vehicle from Tuensang breaks down, we request the station in Kohima to send a bus to resume the service.”