Unrecorded history Scripting a tragi-comedy
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 14, 2011 -

Apart from not only being the first and only man to complete a full term in the chair of the Chief Minister and looking well set to complete a second term in succession, Okram Ibobi Singh seems poised for innings number III in the 10th Assembly, which will put him just behind Rishang Keishing as the longest serving Chief Minister of the State by only a couple of years.

This is for the record book in the Legislative Assembly as well as for students preparing their GK papers sometime in the future. What will not be recorded in the Legislative Assembly and books on General Knowledge is the story of how the original man from Khangabok Assembly Constituency who later adopted Thoubal Assembly Constituency, scripted and equated governance to Quixotic decisions and in the process lorded over the gradual decline of Manipur to the status of some cheap jokes without finesse.

Aiding him in this mission are some of the officials who come visiting Manipur as part of the Delhi Team to inspect the numerous projects being taken up in the State, particularly Imphal, and then go back after dubbing the work progress as excellent. Generous marking and generous examiners, is what comes to mind when we talk about these officials especially at this time, when results of the Class XII and Class X examinations have just been announced.

Mr Ibobi has been in the chair of the Chief Minister for nine years and no one will refute that under his stewardship a number of projects have been taken up all over the State, particularly in Imphal.

The BT Flyover, the Capitol Project, the road expansion work from Moirangkhom to Singjamei along NH-39, upgradation of the stretch from Imphal to Koirengei along NH-39, the Imphal Sewerage Project, the completion of the three market complexes in Khwairamband bazar, the process of setting up a new High Court complex at Mantripukhri, the setting up of the NIT at Lamphel and JNIMS at Porompat, the road widening work underway from Wahengbam Leikai towards Heirangoithong etc are some of the more visible efforts taken up by the SPF Government.

There is more in store and among the more prominent ones are the Mega Water Supply project for Greater Imphal, the pending introduction of the special buses under the JNURM, etc.

In addition we have seen the inauguration of market sheds, bridges, community halls etc during the tenure of Mr Ibobi and not surprisingly all these projects are being trumpeted as the achievements of the Congress led SPF Government under the leadership of Okram Ibobi Singh.

With election coming near, we can understand when the Ministers and MLAs of the SPF Government go overboard in highlighting all these as achievements but the tragi-comedy starts the moment they start believing in these tall talks. Living up to the reputation it has earned over the nine years in power, the SPF Government is today talking about upgrading Hotel Imphal to a 5 Star Hotel after evicting the residents of Naga River Colony !

A Government which seems satisfied with the work progress of the Capitol Project has no business to be talking about evicting residents of a locality to set up a 5 Star Hotel.

There is nothing wrong in dreaming. In fact dreams are what propel an individual or a people to go beyond the average and achieve excellence, but when these dreams border not only on the Quixotic but also on foolishness, then it is time to break the stupor. Hotel Imphal has for long been the White Elephant of the Tourism Department.

It has been running on huge losses to the State exchequer and a look at its peeled off paint, its furniture, its rooms, its curtains, its defunct flushes in the toilets and the dry taps in the bathrooms will leave no one in doubt of what a mess it has become.

And to talk about upgrading it to a 5 Star Hotel is nothing less than giving a tailored suit to a hungry man instead of bread. This is one misadventure that the Government seems intent on embarking. How many years has the Imphal Sewerage Project been in its pipe laying status ?

How many years has it been since RIMS road was dug up for the said project and how many more years will it take to fill it up ? How many years did the people of Uripok had to cope with the dust in the dry season and the slush in the rainy season when the BT Flyover was under construction ?

The same question may be raised with regard to the road widening work at Singjamei, Chingmeirong, etc. To think that this is the same Government which went hammer and tongs against the BRTF for ostensibly going too slow over the repairing work of NH-53.

This is one reason why we say that the Chief Minister is helming the process of reducing Manipur to the status of a joke, without any taste. If Manipur is a mistake today then its present status owes a great deal to the SPF Government. History may not be so harsh and it may not even mention that the SPF Government took more than six years to complete the Capitol Project.

History may not say that it has taken more than five years for the Imphal Sewerage Project to see the light of day. History may not say that the people of Uripok, Singjamei, Chingmeirong had to face severe threat to their health and well being for years, while the road widening work was in progress as well as before the BT Flyover was finally inaugurated.

However, human beings have the uncanny knack of passing down verbally the goof ups of the misfits to the next generation and unwritten tales offer that much more room to add innovations and masalas as the years pass.