ROADS TO BE BLACKED TOPPED IN MON. AUGUST 18: 59 out of 111 villages are not approachable by black-topped roads in Mon district, adding 43% of the roads are still unsurfaced
and many of these roads are not all weather roads and are therefore not motorable during raining season. This was stated in Mon district Human Development Report brought out recently through Government of India- United Nations Development Programme project, a copy which was made available to The Morung Express. The report said that due to lack of proper communication facilities, access to medical facility is severely restricted in the rural areas of the district. Connectivity of habitations, particularly of rural areas with sub divisional towns and district headquarters is often a support for the public efforts for providing basic health and educational services. It is one of the infrastructural support for production, trade and education services, the report said adding “ However, the physical isolation of the district by virtue of its distance from the administrative headquarters combined with lack of good communication amenities have adversely impacted development activities in the district.
While the vehicle registration rate in the district during 2005-2007 was 11.4% of the total registration of vehicles in the state, the major component of the vehicle registered were two wheelers, the report said adding that due to low rate of vehicle ownership, the existing road network in urban areas appear to be more or less adequate as corroborated by the results of the DHDR Sample Survey 2009. The report said the transportation and communication is a basic linking infrastructure required for generation of economic activity and for social well being in any state. The transportation sector serves as a crucial link for connecting production centres with processing centres and markets. Therefore, good road connectivity is a basic requirement for any developmental to take place in the district, the report said.
Mon district is located furthest from the state capital, Kohima, at a distance of 354 kms.
There is no National Highway passing through the district and approach road and black- topped road facilities are very limited with only 51 of 111 inhabited villages having approachable by black topped road as per 2001 Census of India.
The total length of roads in the district is 1422 kms constituting 10.63% of the total road length of the state. The road density per hundred square kilometers is 79.6 kms which is almost at par with the state’s average of 80.65 kms per hundred square kilometers. It implies that the total road length in the district is comparable with that of other parts of the state. The report said that only 57% of the road network in the district is surfaced which is better than the states’ average of 46.4% for surfaced roads. The density of surfaced roads per hundred square kilometers in the district is higher than the state’s average for surfaced road. These statistics show that the road network and the road conditions in the district is better than some of other districts. As per DHDR Sample Survey 2009, there is felt need for more road linkages between rural and urban areas, adding “This amply highlights the lack of good road connectivity in the rural areas since more than half of the total villages still lack access by all weather roads. Communication facilities, one of the essential amenities is found inadequate in Mon district. The primary concern with respect to connectivity and infrastructure sector in Mon district is therefore to improve the condition of the existing roads and to make all important routes surfaced and mototable.”
Economic and infrastructure development of rural areas depend on good transport and communications facilities, the report said adding trade and commercial activities cannot grow unless there is good communication facilities. In Mon district the public transport services, both government and private is dismal. The primary mode of public transportation is taxis. In urban areas, public transportation services (inclusive of both NST and private buses) constitute about 43 % of the transportation mode and in rural areas, they constitute only 16%, while taxis constitute a very high proportion of public transportation with at 83.4 %. As per 2001 Census of India, only 58 villages out of 111 villages have transport communications. Figure indicates that availability of public transportation services is highly inadequate in both rural and urban areas. “In view of the inadequate public transportation services, there is heavy dependence on taxi services, due to which expenditure on transportation is very high in the district with majority of the people spending more than Rs. 20 per day,” the report said. Further, the report added that the high level of dissatisfaction with availability of transport facilities is indicative of the urgent need for better transportation facilities both in rural and urban areas of Mon district
While the vehicle registration rate in the district during 2005-2007 was 11.4% of the total registration of vehicles in the state, the major component of the vehicle registered were two wheelers, the report said adding that due to low rate of vehicle ownership, the existing road network in urban areas appear to be more or less adequate as corroborated by the results of the DHDR Sample Survey 2009. The report said the transportation and communication is a basic linking infrastructure required for generation of economic activity and for social well being in any state. The transportation sector serves as a crucial link for connecting production centres with processing centres and markets. Therefore, good road connectivity is a basic requirement for any developmental to take place in the district, the report said.
Mon district is located furthest from the state capital, Kohima, at a distance of 354 kms.
There is no National Highway passing through the district and approach road and black- topped road facilities are very limited with only 51 of 111 inhabited villages having approachable by black topped road as per 2001 Census of India.
The total length of roads in the district is 1422 kms constituting 10.63% of the total road length of the state. The road density per hundred square kilometers is 79.6 kms which is almost at par with the state’s average of 80.65 kms per hundred square kilometers. It implies that the total road length in the district is comparable with that of other parts of the state. The report said that only 57% of the road network in the district is surfaced which is better than the states’ average of 46.4% for surfaced roads. The density of surfaced roads per hundred square kilometers in the district is higher than the state’s average for surfaced road. These statistics show that the road network and the road conditions in the district is better than some of other districts. As per DHDR Sample Survey 2009, there is felt need for more road linkages between rural and urban areas, adding “This amply highlights the lack of good road connectivity in the rural areas since more than half of the total villages still lack access by all weather roads. Communication facilities, one of the essential amenities is found inadequate in Mon district. The primary concern with respect to connectivity and infrastructure sector in Mon district is therefore to improve the condition of the existing roads and to make all important routes surfaced and mototable.”
Economic and infrastructure development of rural areas depend on good transport and communications facilities, the report said adding trade and commercial activities cannot grow unless there is good communication facilities. In Mon district the public transport services, both government and private is dismal. The primary mode of public transportation is taxis. In urban areas, public transportation services (inclusive of both NST and private buses) constitute about 43 % of the transportation mode and in rural areas, they constitute only 16%, while taxis constitute a very high proportion of public transportation with at 83.4 %. As per 2001 Census of India, only 58 villages out of 111 villages have transport communications. Figure indicates that availability of public transportation services is highly inadequate in both rural and urban areas. “In view of the inadequate public transportation services, there is heavy dependence on taxi services, due to which expenditure on transportation is very high in the district with majority of the people spending more than Rs. 20 per day,” the report said. Further, the report added that the high level of dissatisfaction with availability of transport facilities is indicative of the urgent need for better transportation facilities both in rural and urban areas of Mon district