Politics of rugged road of Kasom block

Marchang Reimeingam *

The memories of last year's natural disaster that have rugged the road of entire Kasom sub-division and created lots of hurdles and inconveniences to the people of this division is haunting till today. The landscape of landslide and rugged road remains untouched and undisturbed. However, lives has to move on this rugged road – the only lifeline for supply of goods and services. All goods ranging from salt to life saving drugs are normally transported via Yairipok via Kasom to the innermost border village.

Also from the border villages and villages lying in the Kasom block supply goods, including food items like vegetables and fruits and non-food items like timber, firewood and charcoal, to the valley. Ukhrul South has a population of slightly more than 12,000 spreading in 36 villages as per 2011 census.

Poor road condition is a real problem for transporting goods as well as people. There is no properly regulated pubic transport system in this block. Only couple of public buses and others like jeep are catering transportation services. It has resulted to monopolise the fare and more importantly the frequency of plying. Frequency of bus plying on this road depends on the season both climatic condition and festival season.

Moreover, during the peak season during Christmas in December buses caters not only by increasing the frequency but also by overloading the bus. Overloaded bus may result to fatal casualties if road mishap occurs. This implies that the lives of thousands people are always risky because of poor public transport facility and poor road condition.

Life seems to carry little value on this Kasom road. One life was lost due to the natural disaster that destroyed road last year but government does not care to give a token of compensation to the victim's family. During rainy season as the road became muddy and slippery, people from this block hardly travel. This affects the livelihood activities and most importantly threatens food security and national security.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) is constructing Thoubal to Kasom road in full swing. However, unfortunately part of supposed ADB's road is affected in the form of massive landslide by last year's natural disaster. For a temporary relieve they have carve a new road with a steepness of more than 45 degree just above the massive landslide area. Every passenger has to disembarked the vehicle while crossing this road until safe place is reached. This means drivers and their helpers lives are put into great risk.

Passing on this road is very eventful with full of dramas who walks carefully on the side of very steep-cliff road, who pushes vehicle from the back putting life at danger, whose vehicles were stuck in the thick dust and mud, whose vehicle breaks down, and many more interesting scenes where National Geographic Channel would want to capture all moments and make a big money.

Some people must be thanking the natural disaster as they may are making a big money out of disaster management fund. Politicians would also be elated as election time is approaching so that repairing the rugged road in the block can be included as one of their election manifestoes. A rational citizen would alter their ancestral implanted mindset of choosing their desired representative (family favourite candidate) to fair and socially conscientious representative for healthier future in all sense.

One can self ask and reason logically the common problems that is encountered by every citizens of this underdeveloped block. Everyone can play a politics of blame game but ultimately the elected representative is the winner of all. Candidate for MLA would find boundless means and support to win the election. Among them buying ones franchise is top priority. For few hundreds or thousands rupees voter sells their franchise often to a multiple candidates. There ends the power of voters.

The voters and their family suffer for the rest of the days of elected representative term. After winning the election the candidate is normally too meddling to recover all spending on election and also forgets all the agendas that were highlighted during election campaign. Fund which is later released, say, for road development is being appropriated with the expenditure accrued long time back during election campaign for buying votes.

Therefore, roads are never developed for all seasons. ADB would complete construction of Thoubal-Kasom road in the near future. This road ends at Kasom. There is no immediate plan for road construction beyond Kasom. Beyond this point the road is too rugged which has a serious implication on livelihood economically and safety physically. Transportation cost is too costly because of the rugged road that wears and tears vehicular parts such as tyres and consumed more fuel.

Government is obviously responsible for costly transportation costs. Moreover, all vehicle owners are road tax payers. But why road of the hills in general and beyond Kasom in particular is not develop and maintain? Government is answerable for this. People paid vehicle road tax so that roads are properly maintained irrespective of location.

However, roads in valley are mostly all seasons road but not for Kasom block. Does it meant that road tax revenue of the hills are appropriated in the valley road development?

Poor transportation system is hindering accessibility of both labour and goods markets for the people of Kasom block due to hapless transportation infrastructure. For instance, marketable agricultural surplus are limitedly reaching valley or populated areas. Cash crops production such as fruit, spices etc are discouraged as transportation cost is steep.

Election comes and goes. Elected representative of the constituency, from Congress party, remains almost unchanged. Similarly, the condition of the road is also unchanged in the rugged condition. MLA of Phungyar constituency covering Kasom Block was the Chief Minister of Manipur for decades but failed to develop an all season road in this block.

Kasom block road condition remains pathetic and is hardly address. This is so, perhaps, that during election campaign the candidate can keep on giving false promises to construct road if the candidate wins. Small four wheelers faces difficulties to travel because road specifically beyond Kasom is too rugged. Whom to blame? Voters sold their rights during election.

Agents of candidate benefited with government scheme or engaged as contractors or get government job for self or family member. Soon the elected candidate is too busy to retrieve all expenditure incurred during election. The candidate eventually forgot road development or other agendas that was promised during election campaign.

Once MLA tenure is exhausted the strategy is repeated. Voters hardly receive private or social benefits in the post election, hence getting something by selling the vote during election is considered most worthy. Thus, road on the Kasom block remain rugged. Some speculates for politics and others muse for electing a fallacious representative.

Citizens of the block are particularly to be blamed because they are being duped recurrently by the repeatedly elected representative; and also they have elected repeatedly who do not care for their social cause. However, the bigger problem is Kasom block people are not the sole determining factor to elect their representative.

Perhaps time has evolved to have a separate Kasom constituency for uniform development across the constituencies. As election time is approaching the citizens of this block should collectively give a mandate to a candidate who would address social needs and problems. If the representative is obtuse for the society then voters has a full power to change in the next election. People of this block have tolerated enough with the fallacious representative.

Voters have to stop selling their vote for immediate monetary benefit, despite of their immediate desire and need of money, and experience a travel in a smooth all season road.