Two rain-hit Nagaland districts present reports to central

The administrations of Phek and Kiphire, the worst affected districts of month-long rain in Nagaland till mid-August, presented reports to a central team here of the damages and the fund required for their repair.

The reports, made available to the media, were presented during debriefing of a five-member inter-ministerial central team in Kohima on Friday. Reports from other districts are yet to come, officials said.

In a consolidated report of damages in Phek district, a sum of Rs 416.06 lakh is required to repair damages of infrastructure, while Rs 281.34 lakh are needed to rebuild agricultural, animal husbandry and fisheries sector, its Deputy Commissioner Orenthung said.

No relief has been received by the district, while two sorties have been made by IAF chopper for supply of essential commodities to Phokhungri and Wuzu villages under Meluri sub-division, he said.

He said that the district administration and District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) extended immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each for severely damaged houses and Rs 5000 each for partially damaged houses.

Deputy Commissioner and DDMA Chairman of Kiphire, Md Ali Shihab said with more than a month of the district remaining cut-off from all sides due to landslide, the administration was yet to reach remote villages with relief material.

Shihab said that the main NH-202 connecting Kiphire to Kohima and Tuensang districts remained cut-off at various locations since July 29 last due to torrential rain with major affected areas being Meluri in Phek district and Yei bridge in Tuensang district.

Though the Meluri stretch has now been connected through a bypass road, it is not safe for heavy vehicles, while Yei bridge location in Tuensang road is not yet restored.

Due to the bad road conditions, normal supply of essential commodities from Dimapur has been affected severely and the district is facing acute shortage of rice, he said.

Kiphire district has around 110 villages and the DDMA is not able to reach maximum villages with relief material due to bad weather condition and damaged roads, he said.

Since Kiphire does not produce rice, the villagers in those areas are surviving on local produce kholar (beans) and maize.

The deputy commissioner sought immediate attention of the Central government for repair of the National Highway and village roads.

The five-member Inter-ministerial central team, led by Joint Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs K B Singh, left for Delhi on Friday after conducting on-the-spot assessment from September 4 to 7.