“ ‘I was going somewhere when I saw a pit, I asked ‘where is the road?’ ‘In the pit’ they said. I asked, ‘where is the pit? ‘In the road’ they said. Then I saw a man riding a scooter in that pit... sorry, the road. His wife was riding pillion.

Every two minutes he would reach behind and touch her. I asked him why he was doing that. He replied, ‘I want to make sure she has not fallen off’.” This was Atal Behari Vajpayee’s election speech in the 11th Lok Sabha election in 1996 poking fun at the Narashimha Rao Government’s record on civic amenities.

It might be an anecdote in an election rally but what AB Vajpayee had said about the condition of the road in mainland India in general, it is very much true when one looks at the condition of our State and National Highways.

Let me narrate another anecdote in the line of what our former PM had said or it may be my feeling at the behaviour of a man. My colleague, a friend of mine wears a raincoat whenever he comes to school these days even when the sky is clear and there is no threat of rain. Out of curiosity, I asked him why he put on raincoat daily.

With a smile he told me that it was not the rain that disturbed him but the dust along the National Highway 39 compelled him to wear the raincoat as dust proof to protect his clothes from dust. My friend hails from Sekmai. If it is the condition of the road stretched from Imphal to Sekmai then one can imagine the condition of the NH39 beyond Sekmai upto the State border town Mao.

For the last two or three years in the name of improvement of State and National Highways, road are scratched and dug out and left unattended for many months. The cracks developed into potholes in the middle of the road. It is found in almost all the roads connecting the Imphal city save for a few kilometers in Imphal airport road.

In the heart of the Khwairamband bazar and in the Uripok road, in the name of sewage project, and construction of Ima Keithel and Fly-over bridge, our city is wallowing in the mud.

Many road blockades and partial bandhs were seen here and there along the State and National Highways by many JACs in pressing the demand for improvement of roads. What does it really mean? It is exposing the inefficiency of the Govt that is boasting about many achievement during the last five years.

Now hill based students’ organisations, ANSAM, ATSUM, KSO etc go to the extend of calling bandhs along the NH39 in pursuance of their demand for improvement of the said National Highway.

A Government is only for the welfare of its people. When that Govt fails to respond to the needs of the people, when the people themselves rise to pierce the ears of the authority with the bell of alarm of bandh and blockade one will have the inclination that the bandh call for a genuine cause is not illegal.

The Government wants to get rid of the bandhs and blockades. It is now busy in controlling and preventing bandhs, general strikes, and economic blockades. If the words of the authority are to be believed, legal actions will be followed soon in accordance with the judgement of the Apex Court.

Yes, common people hate bandhs. Bandh and blockade do affect normal life of the people, the stomach of the daily wage earners and so also the State economy.

But the Government is not sincere enough to look into the matter concerning the common people. Those in power are immune to the plight of the people and only wake up to the cause when bandhs and blockades are called by the bereaved section of the people.

Coming again to the conditions of the roads and problems of traffic in our State more particularly in the State capital, the volume of traffic is far weighted down than the breadth of the road. We can have easy ride beyond the periphery of Imphal Municipal area with fresh air and free traffic flow.

But when one put his wheel in the threshold of the city in any of the streets that goes to the heart of Imphal city one will surely find himself in a terrible mess. Rickshaws find their place in the lane where it is meant for the speeding vehicles. Auto-rickshaws will drive parallel to each other.

Adventurous bike riders show their skill in driving in the crowd of vehicles even by overtaking the heavy vehicles from the left. Dust from the road and smokes from the vehicles play havoc on the riders and pedestrians. One way traffic system is enforced from the southern point of Paona Bazar, Moreh Market upto Khoyathong for the last many years.

This very road which is just a small lane in comparison with the road of other cities is a big mess for all. Footpaths are used for hawkers to bargain their commodities to the peddlers. Many shopkeepers use it as an extension to their shop.

In the street rows of bikes and scooters occupy a large portion of the road. The next row is taken by cars and gypsy for parking leaving only a small area for traffic. One who is new to this city will wonder whether it is a road or a parking lot.

The prospect of a cleaner, greener Imphal and secure a normal traffic from peddlers to drivers will no doubt be welcomed by many. Unfortunately the reality is very different and very far as yet.

Whom are we to blame for all these? The Government or we ourselves? Criticising the Govt alone for not fulfilling the promises it made will not solve the problem.

Nothing and nobody in our State is straight including ourselves, because we are the maker of our Government.