Imphal: The Secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Commissioner of Excise for the Government of Manipur, Hungyo Worshang, inspected polling stations in the 43-Phungyar Assembly Constituency on November 8 as part of preparations for the upcoming 2027 state Assembly elections.
This administrative review coincided with appeals from Kamjong residents living along the Indo-Myanmar border, who sought immediate state intervention over the deteriorating condition of roads built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
Local community members said several important routes remained abandoned and unmaintained, leaving border populations isolated and vulnerable.
The official inspection aimed to assess Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) and infrastructure across Kamjong district to ensure that basic election standards are met ahead of the polls.
Sector officers and election officials, including PHED Executive Engineer Chamdanlung Rongmei, Public Works Department (PWD) Executive Engineer Garnish Kashung and Kamjong Zonal Education Officer Badan Thaimei, accompanied the senior official during the assessment.
The evaluation focused on essential logistical requirements at the polling stations. The official checked accessibility, ramp installations, parking areas, clean drinking water, waiting sheds, accessible toilets, and adequate lighting and electricity arrangements. Brief discussions were also held with the accompanying sector officers to identify immediate measures needed to improve polling stations with inadequate facilities.
Residents cited the Kamjong–Chattric–Chahong Khunou road as an example of the poor infrastructure, reporting that overgrown vegetation and large potholes had made the vital route nearly unmotorable.
Although a 13-kilometre stretch from the district headquarters had previously been blacktopped, residents said the lack of maintenance had rendered those improvements ineffective, severely affecting connectivity for more than a dozen border villages, including Chahong Khunou, Sahamphung and Kachaophung.
Further compounding the region’s isolation, the Bailey bridge over the Namban River was destroyed in an explosion on July 21, 2026. Local reports attributed the attack to suspected Kuki militants, saying it had severed a critical transport link.
Several other important PMGSY routes were also reported to be in a severely deteriorated condition, including the Zingsui-Mapum, Sahamphung-Matiyang and Maokot-Kachaophung roads.
According to local assessments, the only properly functioning road in the district is a 31-kilometre stretch between Kamjong and Huimin Thana, which was constructed independently by the North Eastern Council.
Villagers said they had submitted several formal memoranda detailing the crisis to the Chief Minister, the Governor and the Commissioner of Rural Development. The petitioners alleged that the state government had yet to provide a meaningful response or initiate corrective action.
The infrastructure deficit extends beyond roads, with residents reporting a lack of functioning schools and healthcare facilities in the border areas.
The Sahamphung Primary Health Sub-Centre, the only medical facility in the area, reportedly lacks basic equipment, adequate infrastructure and medical personnel, forcing critically ill patients to undertake difficult journeys to the Kamjong District Hospital.
Community representatives said Kamjong remains one of the areas worst affected by the ongoing conflict in Manipur, leaving border villages particularly vulnerable.
Residents also alleged that the state government had deployed very few security personnel in the region, raising concerns about the conduct of the upcoming elections amid inadequate transport, healthcare and security infrastructure.