Senapati, August 23: With no action taken by the state government despite repeated pleas and requests to repair the PMGSY (Maram-Purul) road, the Purul Youth & Students Organization (PYSO) has initiated road repairing works on its own, bearing the costs.
In a statement, the Purul Youth & Students body mentioned that they were left with no other option as commuters and the people of the area have been suffering due to the bad road conditions. The youth and students body also stated that the most pitiable situation was for the sick and elderly, who have to travel back and forth for emergencies on such a dilapidated road. In many instances, even elderly passengers had to get down and push vehicles whenever they got stuck in the slippery mud.
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The PMGSY (Maram-Purul) road has been slowly deteriorating, now filled with potholes and cracks. Maintenance of the nullah is absent, causing waterlogging during the rainy season. Some potholes are so deep that vehicles have been stranded mid-road after suffering damage, such as broken mobile filters, creating huge inconvenience to travellers. Such incidents, the statement noted, are not isolated but have occurred countless times in the recent past.
It may be recalled that the Maram-Phaibung Road Development Association, the Purul Union, the Purul Youth & Students Organization, and the Koide Youth & Students Organization had earlier appealed to the state government and concerned departments to repair the road on several occasions. However, no action has been taken so far, turning their pleas into a deaf ear. The PMGSY (Maram-Purul) road, which was completed in 2021, should have entered maintenance by 2022. However, no such repair work has been initiated till date.
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Speaking at the repair site, M. Heni, President of Purul Union, drew the attention of the Manipur Government. He stated that the Purul Youth & Students Organization has been repairing the PMGSY road on its own since August 20, bearing all expenses by filling pebbles in the potholes, while their pleas and requests have been ignored by the government. In this connection, the Purul Union President questioned whether “the public is for the Government or the Government for the public.” Urging the government and the concerned department to take action, he appealed to “let the countrymen be given a chance to live a better life.”
It was stated that the youth and student body has been spending more than Rs. 50,000 per day on hiring two JCBs and one tipper truck.