Imphal, 01 November 2020 (Evening News ) :  An important iron Bailey bridge along National Highway-37 (Imphal-Jiribam Road) over the Irang river at Taubam village in Noney District collapsed this morning. Impact News source said the Irang Bridge collapsed when a 10 Tyre Tipper Truck loaded with sand crossed the weak bridge at around 7:25 AM. The bridge caved in right in the middle taking along with it the truck and its occupants, a driver and a handyman. People of nearby Taubam village and CRPF personnel rushed to the spot and rescued the handyman however the driver died in the incident. According to Impact News source, the truck bearing registration number NL-07A-89-37 belongs to a private company which deals in Railways construction works and was carrying sand from Dimapur and was on its way to Jiri side. Many loaded trucks coming from Jiri stranded near Taubam, Khongshang and in other places along the Highway, empty trucks and passengers vehicles coming from Imphal have returned back for alternate routes. According to DC Armstrong Pame, an amount of 32 crore rupees has been sanctioned by the relevant Ministry to repair the bridge under NHIDCL but no contractors are ready to take the contract at the rate though tender has been floated around three times already. He also mentioned that due to the long issue over land acquisition in the area, a permanent bridge could not be constructed till date. He assured that the relevant authorities will take a decision on the matter at the earliest.