Suspending activities for 5 days : Can Manipur afford a 5 day fest
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 23 2016 -

Something unique to Manipur. For five days the print media in Imphal will shut down on account of Holi or Yaoshang festival.

It has been like this for years and there is no indication that there will be any perceptible change in the near future.

While the five days break will no doubt be sweet to majority of the journalists working in the print media in Imphal, it is more than right that questions be raised on whether Manipur can really afford to have a festival stretching for full five days.

Not only for five days, if one takes into account the fact that Thabal Chongba associated with Yaoshang will continue, maybe till Cheiraoba or April.

The Sangai Express has already laid down the reasons for the five day break in earlier commentaries in this column, but now that the festival is now upon us, there is no harm in repeating the points raised earlier.

With the newspaper distributors or hawkers unable to come and collect the day’s paper for distribution to the readers, it practically makes no sense to continue publishing during the said period.

Some years back, the media houses decided to give it a try and resume publication on the fourth day, that is after three days.

That decision sort of backfired for no distributor or hawker turned up to collect the newspaper.

The result was the journalists being greeted by piles of unsold or undistributed newspaper the next day. The disappointment can only be imagined.

Again there is a reason why distributors are reluctant to come to the newspaper offices to collect the day’s paper.

With so many young girls and not so young girls putting up road blocks to collect money from passers by, it practically makes no sense for the distributors to collect the day’s paper to earn some money.

This is where a serious rethink is called for. It is not only the offices of the print media but also other offices.

To be sure the State Government has already issued notices instructing the employees to attend office during the festival, but to be sure attendance will be minimal.

Likewise, most of the commercial areas of Imphal will remain closed during the said period and this in effect says that all commercial transactions will remain suspended for five days.

Can Manipur really afford this ?

Young people enjoying themselves is acceptable but at what cost is the question.

Time to start introspecting whether Manipur can afford to have a festival that stretches for five days and remember Yaoshang is not the only festival.

Time to seriously consider restricting the festival to two or three days.

Happy Yaoshang to all the readers of The Sangai Express.