Spare the weather God, it is about the mentality : Second lifeline or death zone
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 08, 2013 -
A slushy stretch on NH-37 which will welcome the BCIM car rally :: Pix - TSE
It is no longer a question of leaving it to the mercy of the weather God. It has moved beyond the logic of 'it is cold, because it is not hot'.
It is no longer about the unrepaired stretch of 26 kilometres on the Imphal-Jiribam line. Chuck the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar car rally.
It is about the entire stretch of 222 kilometres between Imphal and Jiribam. Second lifeline of the State is a joke. On the contrary it is a potential death zone.
If dust kicked up by moving vehicles reducing visibility considerably, that too on a National Highway, which is supposed to be choc-a-bloc with heavy vehicles does not qualify as a potential death zone, then what would ?
Maybe the Border Roads Organisation and the State Government, in this order, may answer this.
The pressing need to improve/upgrade or make the Imphal-Jiribam line to fit the tag of a National Highway predates the record breaking more than 100 days of blockade in 2011, the 68 days blockade in 2010 and the 52 days blockade in 2005.
It must however be said that the focus of the people zeroed in on this route after the crippling 52 days of economic blockade in 2005. Eight years down the line and there is nothing to suggest that any noteworthy progress has been made.
And eight years is a long, long time. A 10 year old boy then would now be able to cast his vote and certified an adult.
A 12 year old minor girl then, would now be nearing the completion of her college education. Simple arithmetic. But then who cares ?
Certainly not the BRO nor the State Government, not those sitting in the corridors of power at Delhi.
A land locked State and why has the importance of opening as many land routes as possible not registered in the minds of the powers that be, is a question only they can answer.
Developing NH-37 or the Imphal Jiribam line should also be seen beyond the ambit of the frequent blockades, give it any prefix or suffix.
It is about the development of the place through which the route will pass. Tamenglong district, unarguably the most backward district in the State, can and will benefit immensely from this National Highway.
Develop the highway and with one stone, the Government will be able to hit two targets. Nullify the impact of highway bandhs and blockades and address the development issue of Tamenglong and Jiribam sub-division.
Obviously these line of thoughts are too mundane to merit the attention of the Government. Back in 2005, when the All Naga Students' Association, Manipur sponsored economic blockade was in full swing, the then Governor Dr SS Sidhu personally took the road route from Imphal to Jiribam to inspect the condition of the road.
The gesture of the Governor however failed to rub off on the political netas of the State.
In his third consecutive term in office as the Chief Minister and Mr Okram Ibobi is yet to personally assess the work progress on the said stretch.
Instead what the people witnessed has been a series of blame game. This is not what is expected of a Government.
Time also to tell the mandarins at New Delhi that guest appearances on NH-37 are nothing but pulling wool over the eyes of the public.
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