Manipur students' body flags poor condition of Tamenglong–Tousem road, urges government to reconstruct it

The Zeme Students' Organisation Manipur (ZSOM) has urged the Manipur government to immediately restore and reconstruct the Tamenglong–Tousem Headquarters Road, describing it as the lifeline of the Tousem subdivision and warning that its deteriorating condition has severely affected the lives of residents.
 

In a statement issued on Sunday, July 19, ZSOM president Raninglung Newme said the road is the only link between Tousem and the Tamenglong district headquarters, providing access to healthcare, educational institutions, government offices, banking services and economic activities.
 

He alleged that the road has deteriorated to the point where vehicular movement has become extremely difficult, particularly during the monsoon, when large stretches turn into mud, leaving ambulances, school vehicles, passenger vehicles and private vehicles stranded for hours.
 

Newme said patients requiring emergency medical care, students travelling for examinations, elderly people, women and children have been among those worst affected by the road's poor condition.
 

He also claimed that local villagers and commuters have repeatedly carried out temporary repairs using locally available materials such as stones and gravel, arguing that these efforts reflected both the resilience of the people and the lack of adequate government intervention.
 

Expressing dissatisfaction with the ongoing maintenance work by executing agencies, including Zandu Company and KCC Company, Newme alleged that the repairs were largely superficial and insufficient to address the road's condition.
 

He urged the government to allocate adequate funds, deploy the necessary machinery and engineering teams, and begin permanent reconstruction of the road without further delay.
 

According to ZSOM, the journey between Tamenglong and Tousem, which should ordinarily take about three-and-a-half hours, often takes significantly longer because of the damaged road, with commuters sometimes stranded for several hours or even overnight.