IMPHAL, Sept 5 - Manipur has been hit by a fuel crisis following the severe landslide in Nagaland�s Phesama village on August 19, which led to the suspension of traffic on Imphal-Dimapur National Highway and subsequent 48-hour Highway bandh by the United Naga Council from Thursday midnight.
A senior official of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Imphal said the existing stock of petrol will last just three days and diesel for another 10 days. The State�s requires 127 kilolitres of petrol and 241 kilolitres of diesel daily. The storage capacity of IOC depot in Imphal is just 840 kilolitres.
�Around 186 oil tankers are stranded at Khatkhati (Assam-Nagaland border) due to the landslide,� said the IOC official.
Most fuel outlets in and around Imphal town have started rationing of petrol since the last seven days. The crisis has hit the common people hard with petrol is being sold at Rs 90-Rs 100 a litre in the black market.
Meanwhile, due to incessant rains, landslides and resultant extensive damage to communication infrastructure, essential services like telephone and internet facility in Manipur and parts of Nagaland have taken a severe hit, sources said.
�The problem was further complicated due to damaged roads and delayed restoration work,� PRO Defence Wing Imphal said in a release here. �The Red Shield Division provided high bandwidth Optical Fibre Cable to BSNL authorities of Nagaland and Manipur to restore the telecommunication infrastructure.�
Brig HS Cheema on behalf of the Red Shield Division handed over the OFC to BSNL authorities at Zakhama. The Army signallers later laid the cable over the affected areas and restored the communications. These stores have been utilised to restore communications to Jakhama, Kohima and Senapati district.
Further restoration of services to remote areas along Imphal-Moreh road is under progress, the release added.
