Six years after inauguration Defining incomplete project
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 15 2016 -

After 5 yrs of inauguration, ISBT functional on November 13 2016 :: Pix - TSE

Functional nearly six years after its formal inauguration and certainly the State Government seems to have perfected the art of giving a new definition to the understanding of inaugurating incomplete projects.

It was on December 3, 2011 that the ISBT was inaugurated in all its glory by the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and AICC president Sonia Gandhi and it became functional only on November 13, 2016.

Nothing short of taking the people for a ride and there is nothing pleasant about this.

Long after the ISBT was inaugurated, The Sangai Express did a series of story on how the inaugurated project was turned into one big latrine with human excreta strewn all over the place.

True to its character, the State Government did not bother to clarify on the matter and things went on as if everything was fine.

Perhaps this is best exemplified by the thumping show of the Congress in the Assembly election held in 2012.

A damning testimony that the farce of an inauguration drama enacted before the people did not register in the minds of the voters one bit.

This is what makes the political leaders of the place immune to such things as projects should be inaugurated only when they are completed and ready to be used for the purpose for which it was built in the first place.

Now the project stands completed and it has been made functional. Only time will tell whether this will help to ease the traffic chaos one witnesses daily on the roads of Imphal.

As expected, Transport Minister Dr Kh Ratankumar struck a positive vibe during the function which marked the occasion of making ISBT functional and dished out a number of reason for the delay in making it functional.

It is another thing whether the version of the Minister will have any takers with the people or not and much less the claim that the ISBT will help reduce traffic congestion by 70-80 percent in Imphal.

Maybe a true account of the state of affairs on the road leading to ISBT is in line here.

The Minister may not be aware of this, for remember the roads are always cleared when any of the Ministers have to go through the crowded roads with sirens of their cars blaring all along.

As things stand today, Khongnang Ani Karak, which is a compulsory route to go to ISBT is choc-a-bloc with vehicles.

Four roads meet at this spot, one coming from the north, one from the east, one from the south and one from the west.

The scenario is all that worse when the Assembly is in session and when school buses and vans have to cross this spot on their way to school and on their way back home.

Remember numerous schools are located along the road that takes one to Koirengei side.

Underlining a point that not much thought seems to have been given on where the ISBT should come up.

Again remember the Tata Sumo/Van stand for vehicles that will take passengers to Ukhrul is stationed bang opposite ISBT.

One can imagine the situation when inter-district buses start proceeding toward or departing from ISBT.