Symbolic trek to highlight Nagas’ urgent need for good roads

EMN
Dimapur, January 29

Students from a college in Dimapur are currently on a two-day trek across Wokha district as a symbolic exercise to highlight the dreams of the Naga people to have modern road and transport connectivity.
“In fact, the dreams and aspirations of a people, to be translated to reality, first need a strong network of excellent road connectivity. It is in belief of such a dream, that we the C-Edge Team, decided to make this trip by foot. In the process, interacting closely with the locales along the route, we hope to connect with not only the different people, but with what is within ourselves too,” stated the college, C-Edge College of Dimapur. A number of students from the college have begun what they called a “historic trek”, a two-day trekking starting from the Governor’s Camp all the way to Tzürang Valley via Bhandhari, Champang and dozens of other villages and hamlets in Wokha district.
The trekking team comprises students and faculty from the institution as well as other support members. The institution has christened the trekking campaign as the “Foothill Highway by Foot”. Over a period of two trekking days starting from the Governor’s Camp in Liphayan near Wokha, the trekkers will be covering the stretch of region all the way to Tzürang Valley via Bhandhari, Champang and dozens of other villages and hamlets in Wokha district along the border with Assam.
“For decades, the foothill highway has been a dream for the Nagas. In fact, the dreams and aspirations of a people, to be translated to reality, first need a strong network of excellent road connectivity,” the institution’s management stated in a press release issued on January 29. “It is in belief of such a dream, that we the C-Edge team, decided to make this trip by foot. In the process, interacting closely with the locales along the route, we hope to connect with not only the different people, but with what is within ourselves too.”
A short flag-off ceremony was held conducted on January 29 below the hanging bridge at the Governor’s Camp. The objectives of the trekking event were explained by Moa Aier, president of the college. ‘The trek is more than just a walk along the foothill highway which is presently under construction. But the walk is effectively taking education outside the four walls of the classroom. They would be turning the open vibrant space of the foothills along the route into special classrooms,’ he said.
According to him students of economics ‘would see and understand the economics of the road and its impact upon the State’s economy, students of sociology would see and study the sociological pattern of the foothill villages, students of political science and history would see firsthand the historical and political nature and conflict of the Nagaland-Assam border and so on.’
Engineer-in-Chief of the PWD D Mero who flagged off the trek team explained briefly about the foothill highway project. It would run from Tizit Mon till Phelma Peren, a distance of about 410km. The stretch from Governor’s Camp till Tzurang Valley was about 100km. The formation cutting for this stretch was complete and pliable. The bottle neck is the bridge over Doyang River. The foundations for the bridge construction are underway.