Imphal, July 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) Suspected militants blew up a bailey bridge over the Namban River in Manipur’s Kamjong district using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), severely disrupting road connectivity to several remote villages, officials said on Wednesday.
A police official said the explosion occurred between Phange and Chatric villages in the Naga‑inhabited Kamjong district during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.
The 130‑foot bailey bridge, constructed in 2016 under the Centre’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), served as a crucial road link connecting Chatric and several neighbouring mountainous villages with the Kamjong district headquarters.
Police said that a Bolero pick‑up vehicle belonging to a government organisation, which was parked on the bank of the Namban Lok River, was also set ablaze by the unidentified suspected militants.
According to the police, the attack appears to have been aimed at damaging critical public infrastructure, disrupting transportation and communication services, obstructing public movement and creating fear among the local population.
A suo motu case has been registered at Chandel Police Station, and an investigation has been launched to identify those responsible for the incident.
Police officials said villagers reported hearing a powerful explosion and suspected that high‑intensity explosives had been used to destroy the bridge, causing extensive damage and affecting the movement of local residents.
The suspected militants also torched the pick‑up vehicle parked near the riverbank before fleeing the area, officials said.
Meanwhile, the Tangkhul Naga Long, a leading organisation of the Tangkhul Naga community, strongly condemned the incident. In a statement, the organisation said that in the early hours of Wednesday, the 130‑foot‑span bailey bridge, constructed under the PMGSY in 2016, collapsed at its midpoint due to the impact of a powerful bomb blast.
The organisation said the destruction of the bridge has completely snapped the vital road connectivity between the Kamjong district headquarters and Sahamphung Sub‑Divisional headquarters, causing immense hardship to the local population.
It said the bridge was an important lifeline for residents of the region, facilitating the movement of people, essential commodities, medical services and government officials, and its destruction has seriously affected normal life in the remote hill district.
Police and security forces have launched a search operation in the surrounding areas to trace those involved in the attack, while officials are assessing the extent of the damage and exploring measures to restore connectivity at the earliest.
Source: IANS
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