[ Bengia Ajum ]
MIAO, 19 May: After a gap of eight years, beginning in 2015, PDS rice under Priority Household (PHH) and Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) has reached Vijaynagar in Changlang district by road.
When the head load system of carrying PDS rice was discontinued, the PDS rice supply to remote Vijaynagar had also stopped. Only rice under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana was being airdropped.
With considerable improvement of the Miao-Vijayangar (MV) road, a truck carrying PDS rice reached Vijaynagar. The MV road has been made motorable with regular maintenance. However, with rains starting to lash the state, landslides are causing regular disruptions.
The 157-km-long MV road has been divided into five packages. While works under Packages 1, 2 and 3 are complete, works are still ongoing under Packages 4 and 5.
Under Package 4, blacktopping has been done from 77 Mile to 86 Mile, along with road marking and crash barriers. Under Package 5, blacktopping has been completed and all markings done. However, as per a report, there are five major landslide prone zones under this package which are causing regular disruptions. Even in the areas where the road construction has been completed, regular maintenance is required to keep the road open, especially during the monsoon. Also, beyond 70 Mile, there are multiple slide zones which repeatedly cause disruptions.
“MV road is motorable but only with continuous maintenance. To make roads all-weather motorable, maintenance provisions must be kept and dedicated machines earmarked for maintenance. Also, there should be CC drains, retaining walls, more culverts, gabian walls and soil and slope stabilisation,” said a senior official involved in the construction of the road.
The major portion of the MV road passes through the Namdapha Tiger Reserve. Keeping this in mind, the stretch of the road between 10 Mile and 78 Mile will only have GSB. The National Tiger Conservation Authority has refused to grant permission for blacktopping of this stretch of the road.
