What Manipur Needs

The land of gold is burning and it is time to put the fire out

- SHACHI GURUMAYUM

MANIPUR, SANALEIBAK (the land of gold), is not an easy place to get to. Either you fly into Imphal or you take one of the long and winding roads through the hills surrounding the Imphal valley before arriving tired and exhausted in the capital city. The aptly named Asian Highway 1 cuts right through the state, connecting Moreh town, at the border with Myanmar past Imphal, with Mao, at the border with Nagaland. There is also a railway line under construction, featuring some great engineering marvels as it meanders its way from Jiribam at the border with Assam through Tamenglong and Noney districts to Imphal. Old highways are undergoing reconstruction and new roads are being cut through the mountains in multiple parts, crisscrossing the state from north to south and east to west. As the child of an ever-enthusiastic engineer who travelled across the state and retired as chief engineer of the public works department, and as a trustee of a development foundation active in 14 of 16 districts in Manipur, I have had the experience of seeing various parts of the state through the decades. The pace of infrastructure development has never been so great as I see now!