Driver Nida mentality: Saluting the unsung heroes
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 19 2011 -

Economic Blockade imposed by the Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee :: August 3 2011 - Pix :: K. Bipin Sharma

They are the ones who keep the wheels of the State churning, practically and metaphorically speaking. They are the ones most exposed to the elements on the highways.

And they are the ones who are often at the receiving ends of the State as well as non-State actors and for long they have been stalked, followed, attacked and harassed at the whims and fancies of any power player, which are a dime a dozen in the State.

The pathetic inefficiency of the Government hits them the hardest and while they are expected to brave it out every single day to keep the people, cutting across community, class and caste divide, fed and clothed, there is not a single medal awaiting them for a good job done !

What is more, the earnings they take back at the end of every month to keep the kitchen fire burning and to send their children to the class rooms is a pittance.

Their job profile is nothing to write home about and it comes at the base level in society's notion of a respectable occupation and they come nowhere near the fly by night operator and the shady character who may have made their money by cosying up to the powers that be or by mastering the art of kneeling and crawling before you know who !

No way are they invited to social dos or asked to come and grace a social function. They are after all "Driver Nida" or drivers in short.

Yet ironically it has become something of a fashion statement to acknowledge their contribution towards society whenever some wannabe politician or 'waiting in the wings MLA' or self appointed social worker take to the stage to address a gathering of drivers or transporters.

It is easy to talk and even imagine the pathetic state of NH-53 (NH-37) but to the drivers and their helpers, it is not about talking or imagining but about negotiating their way through the treacherous terrain just so that the Ministers, the Babus, the blue collared workers, the taxi drivers, the vegetable vendors, in fact everyone can move about in their swanky cars or by public transportation.

Moreover the success of their journey through the wretched stretches which go by the name of National Highways have a direct impact on the fate of patients awaiting surgical operations in hospitals as well as to ensure that the little boy or girl in the village do not go to bed hungry.

The daily difficulties the drivers face are professional hazards, no doubt about it, but can we continue to sweep aside the sufferings of these men behind the wheels, due to the failure of the Government to make the National Highways motorable roads, as part of their job profile ?

Can the stones that rain on them, the severe assault they face not to speak of the looming threats of being abducted by hoodlums along the highways, be accepted as simply professional hazards ?

There is something disturbingly wrong with the way in which society has been responding to the travails of the drivers and such a scenario reflects nothing but the presence of a society which is mentally, morally and physically bankrupt.

On August 17, 2011, more than 100 loaded trucks made their way to Imphal after crossing the treacherous NH-53, from Jiribam to Imphal.

The arrival of the goods trucks no doubt gladdened the hearts of the people who are beginning to feel the pinch of fuel scarcity and rocketing prices of essential items, but the complete erosion of ethical and morale values of the people as a whole stood out glaringly in the absence of any acknowledgement of the trouble and travails that the drivers and their men faced while crossing the Jiribam to Imphal stretch of the highway.

It took about 72 hours for the vehicles to cover the 220 kms stretch and it was not only the deplorable state of the highway which the driver had to face but also the raining stones, boulders as well the looming threat over their personal security, thanks to the Sadar Hills district demand agitation.

One driver has already succumbed to the injuries sustained in the brutal assault by bandh supporters and while the death of the driver is by itself a tragedy, there was something sinister in the seemingly indifferent stance adopted by both the State Government as well as the general public of Manipur.

The people's response can be imagined if the victim had turned out to be one of those fly by night operators, a political figure or a moneyed individual. When society as a whole gives two hoots about the services rendered by the men behind the wheels then it should come as no surprise to see them being turned into soft targets on the highways-A damning tale of the warped sense of values that society has imbibed over the years.

While society as a whole stands guilty of failing to give the drivers their due, it is disturbing to see that the Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee has not deemed it fit to even express a word of regret or sympathy to the bereaved family members.

Such insensitivity betrays the loss of human quality. "We had warned all not to violate the call," cannot be reason enough to overlook the tragic turn of events.

In pursuit of one's demand, however justified it may be, it is against all that humanity stands for when not even a single word of remorse is expressed over the death of someone.

Or has the district demand for Sadar Hills blinded them to the extent that the death of a man deserves no word of sympathy ? Such insensitivity may amount to hammering in the nail on the coffin of the issue.

No one, least of all the SHDDC would want this.