The crucial Barak bridge located along the national highway -102 collapsed Tuesday morning, cutting off land-locked Manipur from rest of the country, an official said. The bridge collapsed when a 10-wheeler goods-laden truck was passing through it, a transport department official said, adding that the structure was in a fragile condition since Monday night. This has left around 200 goods-laden trucks coming from Jiribam town to Imphal stranded. The Barak bridge is located along the Imphal-Jiribam highway and passes through the hill district of Tamenglong. The highway, considered as the second lifeline of the border state, assumed greater importance after a massive landslide at Viswema in neighbouring Nagaland cut off the major Imphal-Dimapur national highway.

Source: Hindustan Times July 17, 2017 07:18 UTC