Relief at last
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: November 02 2011 -

Finally it happened, after the longest ever economic blockade Manipur had to endure, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the General Secretary of the Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee, Tonghen Kipgen and the Chief Secretary, Government of Manipur, DS Poonia.

As per the MoU, the Government of Manipur agreed to upgrade the Sadar Hills to a full-fledged district at the earliest but after the submission of report of the the Committee on Re-organisation of Administrative and Police Boundaries.

The fact that the SHDDC agreed to wait till the submission of the report of the Re-organisation Committee and did not insist on immediate upgradation to a full fledged district, is a very positive sign, which could pave the way for a final solution given the fact that the signals emanating from both the camps have been anything but encouraging these past few days.

After the Oct 27 incident involving, Works Minister K Ranjit and women agitators, the SHDDC had accused the state government of not trying to resolve the issue of Sadar Hill and had accused the government of trying to suppress the movement by force.

Following which, a slew of general strikes and total bandhs were announced and as we had commented then, there appeared to be little chance of any resolution in the immediate future. But as things unfolded we were proved wrong and happily so.

The O Ibobi government and the SHDDC leadership deserve to be complimented for having thrashed out this agreement given the delicate nature of the issue.

For the SHDDC, the decision to create three new sub-divisions by bifurcating the three existing ones of Kangpokpi, Saikul and Saitu- Gamphazol within the month of November is something they can take back to their constituency as an immediate achievement of the movement.

Then of course there is withdrawal of all legal cases against the SHDDC leaders and volunteers. But it should be clear to all that there is still a lot of work to be done before this issue is finally laid to rest, there is no room for complacency.

Already, the UNC and ANSAM has come out strongly against the agreement accusing the government of Manipur of trying to incite communal conflicts and have called for a 3 days total bandh from the midnight of Nov 3.

It is imperative that the government engage in dialogue with these two apex Naga bodies and also keep open other channels of communication to try and narrow down the difference and find a common ground.

For the common people, the lifting of the economic blockade has come as a huge relief. To say that they have suffered because of the blockade would be an understatement. Where in the world do any people tolerate forced deprivation for 92 long days?

Petrol was being sold at around Rs 160/litre, cooking gas at around Rs 1600, potato at around Rs 40/kg, tomato Rs 80/kg., likewise the prices of other essential items have also hit the roof. These prices will not come down immediately in a matter of days.

In earlier instance of economic blockades, we have seen things not coming back to normal even after a month of lifting of the blockade, like embers smouldering after the fire.

This is where the state government and its various agencies need to step in and step in firmly, it needs to not just douse the flame but should also put out the embers.

On the one hand, the government should facilitate in every way bringing in of essential supply rapidly and in good quantities to offset the acute shortage and, on the other hand they need to keep a strict watch on these so that they are not hoarded to keep the prices artificially high.

Stringent steps should be taken against all those individuals who are making profit out of people's miseries.

And as the longest ever economic blockade comes to an end, we hope this would be the last such blockade. The government though should be better prepared to face such man made calamities in future - there is so much room for improvement in this area.

Ponder over it and do the needful.