Villagers in Longleng to repair ‘timber bridge’

Our Reporter
Dimapur, July 7 (EMN): A community-funded temporary timber bridge in Longleng district, which came to the rescue of the villagers, is at the mercy of Mother Nature once again.

The lifeline of the villagers was repaired by Temporary Bridge Construction Joint Committee earlier this year and inaugurated on Feb. 23.

‘Temporary bridge usually do not withstand the monsoon as it used to be washed away during the season but the crowd-funded timber bridge, which was built by the locals starting from Dec. 2020, has withstood nature’s fury,’ Kongba Chungphang, the convenor of the committee, told Eastern Mirror.

However, he said the incessant rain in the last few days has caused minor damages and submerged the bridge.

The locals will now repair the bridge on Thursday (July 8) with financial assistance from the committee.

The bridge is the lifeline for neighbouring villages to reach Mokokchung district in times of emergency.

It may be recalled that the foundation stone for construction of the RCC Bridge over Dikhu river on Longleng-Chuchuyimlang-Mokokchung road was laid on Dec. 8 2012 by the then Minister for PWD (R&B) G Kaito Aye. But there has been no progress or sign of work till date.

The convenor said that although the bridge is submerged in water and pliable with minor damages, they cannot predict how long it will withstand the weather.

“Till date, we are unaware if the government will take up the development (bridge construction) as we have not received any assurances from the government,” Chungphang said.

“While bridge construction for other districts has been taken up, no one is interested in the Longleng district bridge, starting from the government to the higher authority, while the public is fed up of waiting,” he lamented.

He expressed hope that the government would see how the public is suffering because of the ‘inconvenience created by them’.