Zeme body reminds govt on ‘abandoned’ DoNER road project

PEREN, NOVEMBER 8 (MExN): The Zeme Leisiname Bau (ZSU-N) issued a press statement today urging the state government to expedite the completion of the Tenning to Lekie road in Peren district. The ZSU-N described the condition of the road as “pathetic” two decades since the road project was sanctioned for construction under the Ministry of DoNER’s broader North East Road Sector Development Scheme. 

According to the union, the road covers a distance of 37.5km connecting Peren with Assam and Manipur and serves as a lifeline for at least 10 villages in the district. 

It said, “The dream of having a good road came with hope and the aspiration of living a better life” only to be halted and abandoned, while repeated requests to complete the work have gone unheeded. 

It further said that successive governments have come and gone, making promises of good roads at every election campaign but the promises are forgotten once elected to power. 

“ ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ therefore, patience of the general public with full faith in the government of the day should not be mistaken as their weakness but should be equally considered with justice for what is due,” it reminded. 

It claimed that lives have been lost as many patients were unable to reach hospitals on time, pregnant women giving birth on the road, teachers refusing to report to their place of work and students studying in other places having to trek on foot because of the pathetic road condition. 

Economically, the villages have been cut off from the rest of the state and beyond as farmers are unable to market their produce, it said. 

Describing the ZSU-N as a “people centric union,” it requested the government to understand the plight of one of its most neglected and under-developed Nsong and Kebai areas of Peren.  

“The union is hopeful that the government is fully aware and will consider (the request) and take viable solution in bringing the road connectivity into reality.”