In October 2003 when, due to bad weather then BJP Prime Minister AB Vajpayee’s helicopter could not fly to Kohima, he was forced to travel by road from Dimapur to Kohima.

On arrival there, after a 74-km drive and while addressing a large gathering he said, “I was told this is the best road in the state, if it is the best it is difficult to imagine how bad is the worst”.

The 214-km Dimapur-Kohima-Imphal Road is the lifeline of both Nagaland and Manipur. It was made two-way during World War II.

And it was on this highway that the Allied forces fought the historic Battles of Kohima and Imphal in April-June 1944, halting the Japanese imperial forces’ advance towards Dimapur, the railhead, then popularly called Manipur Road.

Among the political leaders who had the feel of the road was India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In March 1953, accompanied by his Burmese counterpart U Nu, he travelled on a Landrover from Imphal to Kohima (128km) to address a meeting there. And the latest leader happened to be BJP chief Amit Shah and it was just a few months before the March 2017 Manipur Assembly elections.

He is not known to have passed any comment on the condition of the road. Anyone travelling on this highway by a public bus must be prepared to face ordeals and inconveniences. Recently I took a bus from Imphal to Dimapur (214 km).

It takes eight hours when the weather is fine and more when it rains.

The first stop was at picturesque Sekmai. There the bus stops for passengers to have refreshments as Manipuri traditional delicacies are available.

The place has built a reputation of its own by producing what is popularly called Sekmai Chamelli, a local brew. Frequent travellers are used to a strong stench in the air as almost every shop sells it.

The Supreme Court order banning the sale of liquor within certain limits of the National Highway does not seem to apply here.

The journey from Sekmai to Kangpokpi is more or less smooth. The bone-rattling bumpy ride starts from there through scenic landscape.

It passes through Senapati town and then comes Karong from where the hill section begins. In between Karong and Mao are Maram and Tadubi but buses usually do not stop there.

Before approaching Mao, which marks the border between Manipur and Nagaland, I saw some groups of women filling up potholes on the highway. Some of them even stopped our bus and demanded “donations”.

The sad state of the road must be seen to be believed. In some areas the road was caving in. In March this year alone as many as 21 people lost their lives in accidents on the Imphal-Senapati-Mao route. Along the road at some places I could see charred remains of vehicles and one was being pulled out from a hillside. Buses stop at the Mao gate for passengers to have the last light refreshments.

From Mao the bus enters Nagaland and it does not stop at Kohima. After I crossed Kohima town, I saw several heavy road construction machinery lined up on the roadsides.

The highway is being made into a four-laner and the BJP government is keen on completing the job as soon as possible. Many roadside trees and houses are waiting to be demolished. Since construction work can be undertaken only during the dry season, it is anybody’s guess when the Nagas will have the pleasure of driving along this four-laner. (Incidentally, when Mamata Banerjee was Union railway minister, she had sanctioned construction of a railway line from Dimapur to Zubza, 16 kilometres below Kohima. The slow progress of work suggests the present generation may not even see the railway line being laid.)

The entire Imphal to Dimapur road is dotted with several checkposts/gates. At each one, drivers have to spend at least five to 10 minutes, more if they get into arguments with collectors. They are not aware for what purpose such tolls and taxes are being levied as in most cases no official receipts are issued.

On an average a truck driver ends up by paying as much as Rs.1,000 in one single trip. Some truck drivers in a hurry drive past these gates throwing some currency notes for the he collectors to retrieve.

The NSCN-IM levies annual taxes on every oil-tanker that passes though Dimapur to Imphal, with no questions asked.

The highway was been renamed NH 2 in 2011. And it also known as the Asian Highway 1. It is part of the prestigious India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway that connects Moreh, the border town of Manipur, 100 km from Imphal, to Mae Sot (Thailand), via Mandalay and Yangon (Myanmar).

It is further linked to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. It originates from Dhaka (Bangladesh) and passes through Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur to Myanmar. Since the 2000s the highway has came under several indefinite blockades imposed by different organisations to highlight their grievances. The longest one was imposed on 1 November 2016 by Manipur-based the pro-NSCN-IM United Naga Council in protest against the Okram Ibobi Singh government’s decision to create a new district in the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi in the Naga-majority Senapati district.

The blockade was lifted five days after the BJP government headed by N Biren Singh took charge in March. This highway is one of the most abused socially and politically by sundry organisations. Since it is part of the Asian highway its importance in terms of India’s Act East policy cannot be ignored. It must be made safe from rogue elements and extortionists.

Besides there are hardly any highway amenities for weary passengers, especially no privacy for women. I noticed a “pay-and-use” toilet at Mao Gate and there was a long queue. More such facilities need to be created. Surprisingly, all along the highway one sees no signs of the much-advertised “Swachh Bharat” campaign.

The writer is an Imphal-based freelance contributor.