Blacktopping
Blacktopping of the four-lane Dimapur-Kohima highway going on. Image - Twitter

With the blacktopping of parts of the four-lane highway between Dimapur to Kohima started on Wednesday, the commuters who use this highway, will be able to heave a sigh of relief while travelling on this road, which has remained in a dilapidated condition since long.

Earlier, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) rued that the existing Dimapur-Kohima Road (National Highway 29) has turned from bad to worse due to the ongoing four-lane construction works on the road, causing immense hardship for the commuters from Manipur and Nagaland alike.

The NPF accused the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) Government of remaining a mute spectator with giving no attention on the matter since the last four months of coming to power.

However, a report published on Tuesday by Eastern Mirror stated that the office of the Chief Engineer, Public Works Department (Roads and Bridges) issued notices inviting tender for repair and improvement of various roads in Dimapur and Kohima.

It was also stated that the notice inviting tender a few days after Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s assurance that his government was committed to restore the roads in Kohima and Dimapur within a year.

It has also been reported that open tenders would be floated soon to build and repair proposed roads in Dimapur and Kohima and contractors would be selected after scrutinising their previous records of works.

The report quoted president of Nagaland Contractors’ and Suppliers’ Union, Pele Khezhie, as saying: “PWD had issued such open tender in newspapers after many years,” adding, “Such announcement will help identify professional contractors because they have more experience and better machineries.”