HAFLONG, July 11 � The villagers of Boro Muolkoi near Harangajao have agreed to allow the restoration works on Haflong-Silchar NH 54(E) following an assurance given by the Deputy Commissioner, of Dima Hasao district Barun Bhuiya on Thursday.
The villagers of Boro Muolkoi near Harangajao did not allow the restoration works of Haflong-Silchar NH 54(E) which was damaged on May 9 last due to heavy landslides affecting at least 30 houses and horticulture gardens of the village. The villagers held both the NH authority and railway responsible for the damages to their village and were demanding compensation for the loss.
The Deputy Commissioner, Dima Hasao Barun Bhuiya, Addl Deputy Commissioner, LZ Nampui, Secretary (Revenue) N C Hills Autonomous Council, M Kemprai, along with Project Director, NH, Mathur Deputy Chief Engineer, NF Railway J Chowdhury and the villagers held a spot verification on Thursday and requested that their losses be compensated.
After prolonged discussion, the villagers were convinced by the Deputy Commissioner who physically assessed the loss and its probable cause and understood that deep earth cutting by both the NH authority and the Railway was the primary cause of the damage and said that both these authorities should come forward to thrash out an amicable solution to the problem.
Mathur, PD NH talking to this correspondent said they cannot provide compensation as compensation for the land acquired by the NH authority has already been given.
JD Chowdhury, Deputy CE, NF Railway when asked about the cause of such a huge landslide, said that it was a natural phenomena. But the villagers of Boro Muolkoi whose houses developed cracks and the gardens slid towards the river did not agree with the reasoning of both NH and Railway authority and warned that they are allowing the construction of subway for the restoration but if the authorities fails to provide minimum compensation for the losses suffered, they would be compelled to stop the restoration work immediately.
