Imphal, June 30: A landslide at Maku along the Imphal-Jiribam highway last evening has blocked a 10-feet stretch and left more than 200 goods trucks stranded.

Official sources here said the landslide was triggered by heavy rain in the past two days.

Maku, in Manipur’s Tamenglong district, is about 70km from the state capital.

The Imphal-Jiribam highway is prone to landslides because of largescale felling of trees and burning of forests for jhum cultivation.

Though Border Roads Organisation personnel were pressed into service to clear the road, sources said it would take a few more days before the road could be fully opened to traffic.

The Imphal-Jiribam highway is the second lifeline of Manipur. A majority of supply trucks prefer this route because of frequent strikes and blockades along the other supply line — the Imphal-Dimapur highway.

Moreover, the road connecting Kangpokpi of Senapati district and Tamei of Tamenglong district, known as the Imphal-Tamei road, has also been cut off following the collapse of a bridge at T. Waichong village following mudslides.

Official sources here said though light vehicles could now pass over the bridge after some repairs today, it was still not ready for heavy vehicles.

Works minister Kh. Ratankumar Singh said arrangements were on for construction of a Bailey bridge to replace the collapsed one.

Rain also triggered flash floods in Jiribam sub-division of Imphal East district, which displaced scores of people in many areas of the sub-division bordering Cachar district of Assam and raised the water level in all major rivers of Manipur.

The situation is slowly coming back to normal after the rain stopped yesterday. More than 1,000 people, however, are still in relief camps in Jiribam.

Irrigation and flood control minister Ngamthang Haokip has been visiting vulnerable riverbanks for overseeing precautionary measures as the forecast is for heavy rain in the coming days.

“We are on full alert and monitoring the situation round-the-clock to meet any eventuality. We are also procuring materials to stop overflow of rivers,” an official in the flood control department said.