Comparing to the earlier elections, this time the 9th Manipur Assembly Elections was, by and large, a peaceful affair. People could be seen queuing up in lines, even under the rain, waiting patiently for their turn to cast their votes.

Many had to forego their morning meals so that they can exercise their franchise rights. I was there in Ukhrul, Imphal and Churachandpur to cover the elections and from what I have seen, there was water-tight security arrangements in and around the polling stations.

One can remember those days when home-guards with a lathi in their hands guarding the poll stations where rigging and mass proxy used to be the order of the day. But this time, thanks to the para-military forces, you cannot even park your vehicle within 200 or 300 metres near the polling stations.

The Chief Election Officer, though he must have received lots of complaints from different parties and candidates, has lots of reason to be happy about the way the polls were conducted in the State. It was relatively violence free poll, notwithstanding the violence during the pre and post-poll.

The most important task before the Election Commissioner of India was to conduct the polls in a free and fair manner. I guess the task was completed successfully albeit minor hiccups like allegations and counter allegations.

The point is if the Election Commission is concerned only about the voters turn out and peaceful polling on the days then one can say with conviction that the mission was accomplished.

The next red-letter day which every citizen of the State would look forward to is the 27th instant when the counting will be held. Unlike in the past, the results can be expected on the day itself with the Electronic Voting Machine making the job easier and more accurate. Gone are the days, when each and every ballot paper had to be opened and totalled up.

On the media front, the Govt owned Doordarshan has made its presence with its OB Van telecasting election stories live on air. Prominent politicians and journalists were interviewed live on air.

As for the private channels, they reply on their correspondents, thus raising a question whether elections in the North East or in particular Manipur is not a national interest. Maybe, with the commercialization of media, Manipur Elections does not come into their business radar.

National Media and Sports:

It was a foregone conclusion that our sports-persons will give their best in the recently concluded National Games and that they will bring laurels to the State.

In fact, a large number of Manipur sports-persons also represented different States and clinched medals for their sponsor states. Some newspapers also commented that the 33rd National Games was a playground for the Manipuris where they were pitted against each other.

Here again, it was the old faithful Doordarshan News which gave exclusive footages and live telecast of the closing ceremony of the games. While on the channels like NDTV or CNN-IBN, the focus was on cricket tournament where Australian players got defeated at the hands of the New Zealand team.

Does this mean that closing ceremony of the National Games is a small sports event compared to the cricket match? That too between two foreign countries?

Sometimes, it is correct to say that our media is obsessed with cricket. Sachin Tendulkar's health and performance makes headlines. List of probable players for the ICC World Cup Cricket is big news.

If this is the attitude of national media towards sports other than cricket, then how can we expect our country to rise up and make its presence felt in the international arena?

Looking at the way, the National Games was covered by the media, especially the national electronic media, I am sad to say that we still have miles to go if we have to look beyond cricket and show our prowess in other discipline like football, athletics, hockey et al.

We also have to understand that we can harness our sports prowess by concentrating on the grass root level. If one analyse the sports movement in the State of Manipur, one will realize that the sports movement here is embedded in its grass root form.

Never a day passes by where you can see kids running around with football, of course except in extreme weather conditions, in the open fields. These are the talents that need to be tapped and encouraged.

If the national media prefers to neglect such grass root movement to the extent of giving the National Games a cold shoulder, then I believe it has no business to lament over our poor performances in the Olympic or any other international arena.

Traffic Blues:

I can see Imphal today no better than the bustling and confusing Paltan Bazar in Gauhati. It is certainly in a mess if you look from the point of a pedestrian or a driver. The serpentine traffic jam can get into your nerve when you caught in one. No one wants to follow rules nor would they give space to his/her fellow drivers.

The one who cleverly manoeuvres the vehicle, zips between trucks and does not care for others, reach the destination early. If you are a regular commuter in the streets of Imphal, you must know what I mean.

I feel that there is an urgent need for the traffic personnel to undergo some professional training on traffic management. I also feel that the traffic management in the city requires some scientifically modern approach so that the traffic snarls are minimized.

Secondly, the public needs to be educated on traffic rules. I have seen many hurry-scurry-guys trying to beat down the hands of the traffic personnel. Even though the traffic personnel signal to stop, he will just tear across at the nick of time.

Then, there is this tribe of irritating drivers who never bother to lower down their lights during nights. I have observed that most new car owners are a party in this crime. Maybe every second chap owns cars due to the various attractive loan facilities doled out by the banks.

There is also the need for installation of traffic signals at vital points. One may argue that the public may not follow it for the fact that we not ready for it. But then, when do we learn?

While the world is moving at a fast pace with trans-international highways, flyovers over flyovers we are yet to learn how to follow traffic signals. Let us install one and the rest will follow.

The traffic personnel manning the streets also need to be armed with wireless sets so that they can communicate in trying to ease the traffic flow. For instance, one personnel can ask someone manning a few kilometres away about the condition of the traffic so that he can divert the vehicles to a less crowded area.

Another issue is that the traffic jam can be worst during office and school hours. It is high time that the Govt considers this issue and maybe asks school authorities to start their classes earlier so that it does not collide with office hours. I believe this can give a little relief to our harried traffic personnel and of course the police a little respite.

Last but not the least, it is high time that the authorities concerned think of means and way to relocate bus and jeep parking away from the city area. The bus parking at Wahengbam Leikai and Keishampat is a case in point.

Surely, if these bus station are shifted to some outskirts of the city, then the traffic jam will be eased to a great extent.