Relief trucks reach Nagaland district cut-off by heavy rain

1,500 bags of rice delivered to Kiphire; CM seeks ₹219 crore from the Centre

Nature’s fury: Heavy rain has claimed 12 lives since July and displaced 3,000 families across the State.

Seven trucks delivered 1,500 bags of rice to Kiphire, headquarters of Nagaland’s Kiphire district, on Friday evening after more than 24 hours of starting from the State’s commercial hub Dimapur, 265 km away.

Kiphire, bordering Myanmar, had been cut-off after heavy rainfall on July 26-27 had damaged 300 metres of an arterial road in adjoining Phek district. A diversion was carved out for the trucks after a heavier truck from Assam’s Jorhat had taken a longer alternative road to deliver rice a few days ago.

“The State government arranged the transportation of the 1,500 bags of PDS rice on Wednesday. One truck reached Thursday evening, but six got stuck on the way to finally arrive by 6 pm today (Friday),” Kiphire Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Ali Shihab told

The Hindu.

Apart from rice, Kiphire grows much of the food consumed by some 74,000 people.

CM visits district

He said Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio visited the district on Thursday and provided ₹10 lakh from his relief fund. “Assistance is coming from various corners. A rock show was organised too for raising fund,” he added.

Mr Rio has sought ₹219 crore as immediate help from the Centre to deal with floods in low-lying areas such as Dimapur and the landslide-prone hills.

According to the State’s Disaster Management Authority, the rains have claimed 12 lives since July and displaced 3,000 families across some 400 villages in Nagaland.

₹ 800 crore damage

The rain-inflicted damage is estimated around ₹800 crore. Nagaland was the first north-eastern State to contribute for Kerala flood relief. The fund-starved State gave ₹1 crore.