Is the Government listening to Mapithel's plight?

Thanreingam Muivah *

Mapithel today wears a grim picture of its people's suffering due to various reasons. The main factor that has dragged the villagers of this range into encountering with hardships in their daily chores is the deplorable road condition.

In such a situation the people of this range still have to travel on foot for four to five hours through the lopsided terrains to reach the nearest commercial points to meet their daily requirements.

Such nightmare has come to full public view as these villagers have finally poured out their emotions by calling 48 hours bandh in Ukhrul district beginning 6 pm of August 8 under the aegis of JAC recently formed against the incomplete road construction work from Hongbei to Hingyol Lamkhai covering a stretch of around 46 kms.

Such hardship presently faced by Mapithel range may only turn out to be a tip of the iceberg if the condition of those villagers who settle in the remote areas of the State is to be put in case.

Forget about black topping, these villages do not even have inter village road connectivity (Roads on which one can trek). The so called road that passes through one village to another is also just a result of the hard work the villagers have laboured by the sweat of their eyebrows. For known and unknown reasons the dream of having road connectivity for these underprivileged still remains to be a far cry. You will not be surprised to learn that these villagers who live in the remotest areas of the State do not feel the sense of being a part of Manipur now. How these people could express themselves at the best is to only curse the governance of the present and past Chief Ministers as they are the ones who hold the highest posts in the State.

Their plight has become so acute that sometimes you may just end up being insulted as an alien folk if you interact with them. In the case of Mapithel range which is situated not too far from the State Capital, to its dismay, it does not still have the status of road it otherwise deserves in view of substantial amount of money already sanctioned and released as per reports of the JAC concerned. Now if we examine the failure to properly implement the scheme on the part of the authority and the contractor concerned, and of course of all the individuals involved, one could only imagine the distant dream of other villages or regions that lie on the outskirts of the State to have road connectivity.

This calls for the need to create a mechanism that can check misappropriation of public fund in the first place instead of merely knocking the attention of New Delhi without proper assessment.

Because in most of the cases of developmental works that end up as pending, improper implementation, implementation with sub standard or simply say the failure to meet the planned target etc, it is revealed that half or full of the funds have otherwise already being sanctioned and released by the Centre say for instance, under the PMGSY.

But due to failure on the part of the State Government to install a 'misappropriation detector', public funds are being utilised in multiplying private or personal assets of those influential few in the State leaving the poor at their mercy.

In one stage, it is pertinent to question why hordes of people in this tiny State still have to feel being isolated. India is more than 60 years old now ever since it became free from the clutches of the British Raj. Because of its potentiality India has been lobbying the entire world in its strife towards becoming a permanent member in the UN Security Council. And in the recently held "trust vote" in the Parliament, we have witnessed the overwhelming support for Dr Manmohan Singh who wanted to go ahead with the Indo-US Nuclear deal. The defeat of Opposition parties who tooth and nail resisted such deal clearly says something of India's concern and capability in the field of energy and technology.

But it should also be remembered that it is not always New Delhi or the Centre that should be held responsible for the plight of these underprivileged but there exists an unwanted nexus between few money-hungry individuals who often siphon off the funds meant for public welfare. And that kind of nexus is not surprisingly in our midst.

Therefore, there is an utmost need to curb this sort of anti social element in our society in Manipur today. To make this happen, sincere organisations that will not be swayed by any external forces may be called for. Only then will the hearts of the masses be won in a strife towards ensuring proper implementation of developmental works in the State.

It is seen to be in this light that the Zingsho Mapithel Katamnao Long has shouldered itself with the responsibility of pressurising the authority concerned for completion of Hongbei to Hingyol Lamkhai road construction work. After winning the consent of the people in this range covering around 12 villages a JAC has been formed on June 24. It is alleged that more than 80 per cent of the fund has been released under pmgsy scheme for the construction work.

Against the deadline for completion of the project in December 2004, the JAC also alleged that the authority concerned had not given any spot inquiry till today. Such apathy is leant to have finally invited the wrath of the people who inhabit the region with a population of about 4000.

I could still recall the memory of travelling along this road to reach Shingkap (One of the villages of this range) where the 26th Sports Meet cum Conference was organised by the Tangkhul Aze Katamnao Long in January 2007. But the time I visited the village, turned out to be the most suitable season because I could not but imagine what condition would this road bear especially during rainy season. Despite murmuring waves of the thousand delegates over the hardships they faced during their journey because of the pathetic condition of the road along the Mapithel range, the villagers maintained that they have really worked hard using knife, axe, spade, kenty and whatever traditional tools available at their disposal in view of the big event that was to take place there.

And surely because of this deplorable road, delegates after delegates poured into the village till late in the night on the eve of the event. Even at that point of time villagers of Mapithel range had already raised this issue and they have been cursing the concerned authority for not ensuring proper road connectivity in the region despite withdrawal of fund meant for the construction work.

Irked by the Government's apathy, it could not be ruled out that the affected public may go to any extent through the concerned JAC with the support they have already acquired from various organisations ranging from student community to the apex organisation of Tangkhul Community (Tangkhul Naga Long) in Ukhrul district.

It would thus be wise on the part of the authority concerned to take up the matter at its hand reminding itself of all the ultimatum served in this connection to do something precious before the problem aggravates. On top of that, the conscience of Mr O Ibobi Singh may specifically be called for, to cypher the deserted look Mapithel wears today.