December target set for completion of ‘less trouble-prone’ highway to Manipur
Efforts to enhance NH-37 in Manipur by 2026.
The article discusses infrastructure efforts in Manipur focused on improving National Highway-37 (NH-37), which provides connectivity between Imphal and Assam’s Silchar via the border town of Jiribam. During peacetime, NH-2 is typically preferred, but when Manipur experiences conflict, NH-37 becomes a crucial alternative despite its difficulty—especially in the rainy season when it can become almost unusable.
After ethnic conflict erupted in May 2023, followed by subsequent Kuki–Naga hostilities that led to prolonged blockades along the hilly stretch of NH-2, NH-37’s strategic importance increased. The government target is to make NH-37 “comfortably motorable” by December 2026. The upgrade includes repairing six critical stretches—Keiphundai, Shantikhunou, Barak, Nungba, Rengpang and Irang—covering about 39 km.
The development of NH-37 is crucial for regional stability and economic growth, tied closely to the Act East policy.
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