Pattern behind dig up, fill up, dig up : Lack of co-ordination alibi
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 19, 2012 -

The unannounced digging up of the road in June 2012 :: Pix - TSE

In the concrete structure of officialdom, the notification issued by the Electricity Department in the wake of the damages inflicted on the 11 KV underground power cable by the Horticulture Department in its efforts to plant saplings in Thangal Keithel may just be another exercise of stringing some words, but in reality it tells a story of how hopelessly disjointed the different arms of the Government is.

A cursory look around Imphal would give a fair idea of how effectively different arms of the Government have been working to crown the capital city with the phrase ‘lack of coordination.’ A few sample is in line here.

After subjecting the people to severe inconveniences for a prolonged period, the dug up portions to the east of Johnstone Higher Secondary School along National Highway 2 were filled up and the damaged stretch of the road was black topped.

This happened some time back but as things stand today, the same stretch has been dug up again throwing traffic movement into chaos and confusion. Same is the case near Krishna Premi Oil City, along NH-2, again.

Dig up, fill up then dig up again and to heck with the inconveniences the people are subjected to. There is a pattern to this merry go round exercise and the likelihood of a systematic design behind the ‘lack of co-ordination’ becomes all that more palpable.

The lethargy and ineptness of Government agencies, the artificial obstacles that are put in place by way of voluminous file works and the tantalising temptation of making easy money thrown up by the process of awarding contract and supply works are all potent ingredients of the cocktail that are on display in the form of ‘lack of co-ordination.’

This is not how a Government should be managed, more so a Government which has to look up to Delhi for financial sops at every conceivable moment.

Today the Electricity Department feels constrained to issue a notification after its cables were damaged in a digging up exercise and the question is why such a notification was not issued yesterday, before the cables were damaged ? Simple task but which nevertheless could have saved a lot of inconveniences to the public.

A case of bolting the barn after the horses have bolted. It is not only the cables which have been damaged but also the road, which was black topped only recently after years of wallowing in the state of a dirt track.

Who is going to foot the bill for repairing the damaged underground cables or will it come to the question of the power consumers having to come together and chip in the money from their own pockets to repair the same ? How long will the consumers be made to remain without power supply ?

Has the Government given any thought to the plight of the people ?

Lack of co-ordination between the different arms of the Government is not only a question of inefficiency, but it is also a damning statement of how the interests of the people have been shortchanged by the babudom.

Shouldn't there be some kind of a penalty for damaging public property ?

Or is the penalty applicable only to the public and not the Government Departments ?

Lack of co-ordination has been for too long passed as the alibi for the failure of the Government agencies so much so that it has become the perfect tool for all concerned to keep on passing the buck.

This has to stop. It is the call of the Government.