Nagaland: Rs 39.71 cr Jangpetkong road work begins after decades

Work has formally begun on the first phase of the Jangpetkong road in Nagaland's Mokokchung district, a route that local leaders say has never been fully built since the state was created, The Morung Express reported.

Phase I was launched on Friday at Orija Salang, Changki, by Temjenmenba, MLA and Advisor for Transport and Technical Education.

The project

• Phase I covers about 20 km, from Changki X Junction to the end of Dibuia village.
• The road will be a 3.75-metre standard single-lane carriageway, built in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.
• Project cost is Rs 39.71 crore; the work order is for Rs 37.98 crore.
• The full project runs to about 62 km from Changki X Junction to Luyong in three phases. Phase II is being processed.
• It is sanctioned under the Central Road Fund, under which the contractor starts work before receiving payment.

The contractor, M/s Ayemi Enterprises, said through its director Niholu Ayemi that the work would be finished within two years and would not be allowed to stall, and asked village councils for cooperation and protection during construction. Those present were told that no land compensation will be paid for the road.

"A dream for 30-40 years"

Temjenmenba called the road the fulfilment of a demand that the people of the Jangpetkong range had carried for decades. He said the stretch had only been repaired in patches since 1984, and that the area had fallen far behind others because it lacked a proper road.

He appealed to village councils and landowners to give land wherever the alignment needs it and not to hold up work over local disputes or personal interests, describing it as "a people's project, not a government project". He also urged the executing agency to follow the scheme guidelines and keep the quality of work transparent.

Years of thin budgets

Executive Engineer Chubatoshi of the PWD (Roads and Bridges) Mangkolemba division said the road had stayed usable largely thanks to churches, village leaders, community organisations and local workers. He recalled years when the division had less than Rs 5,000 a year to maintain a kilometre of road.

Representatives of the Jangpetkong Senso Mungdang, the NPF unit of the 29 Jangpetkong Assembly constituency, other range organisations and village council chairmen also spoke at the launch.

Why it matters

Poor roads are a recurring grievance across rural Nagaland, where this week the Khiamniungan Students' Union in Noklak called off an agitation over stalled road projects only after a PWD pledge. Whether Jangpetkong Phase I keeps to its two-year deadline will depend heavily on the land cooperation the MLA asked for, since no compensation is on offer.