Pulling out of SoO pact with 3 groups : Noting concerns of Imphal
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 25, 2023 -

The BJP led Government at Imphal has its hands full.

War on Drugs,
war on poppy plantations,
evicting illegal settlements in protected/reserved forests,
checking large scale influx from across the international border,
the demand for National Register of Citizens with 1951 as the base year,
the growing demand that recommendations to include the Meiteis
in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution of India be sent to Delhi,
the opposition to the ST demand for Meiteis
are all stuffs that will keep any Government on its toes.

Add the seeming reluctance of New Delhi to back the decision of Imphal to nullify the Suspension of Operations pact with three organisations and surely the pressure on the State Government can only be imagined.

All responsibilities of the Government and it was with a mandate that the BJP returned to power after the 2022 Assembly elections to deal with the issues that have just been mentioned and this is where it becomes clear that the State Government cannot wash its hands off from any of the points mentioned here.

As a legally elected Government it is expected of them to address the rabid drug problems and deal with anyone or any entity deemed to be involved in the drug trade, address the large scale infiltration from across the border and check the rampant deforestation and the 'designed move' to occupy all wooded/forested/hill areas under the pretext of one right or the other.

The Government seems to be doing that just right and it is important to note that while New Delhi seems to be reluctant to back the decision of Imphal to walk out of the SoO pact with three organisations, it has nonetheless acknowledged the concerns of Imphal with the activities of some groups.

Delhi should also acknowledge that it is more than a concern for it is worrying.

The land that the people till, the air that one breathes and the water one drinks are the natural resources of the people but when these resources are plundered, ravaged and 'kicked around' then it becomes a gravely worrying point and this is what Manipur has been experiencing down the years.

This is where the reason for designating any wooded areas or forests or hills as reserved/protected forests should not be lost on anyone.

Despite the pressing issues, it is crucial for the Government to address other issues which warrant its attention.

It was some time back that the Government reminded all school van operators on the number of students they are supposed to ferry and this is where it would be apt for the department concerned to issue yet another reminder on this point.

December 21, 2022 should not be just another date for it was on this day that 9 people, including 7 young students, were killed when the bus in which they were travelling while out on a study tour plunged down the road.

It was on the very day of the horrifying accident that the Chief Minister himself took pains to remind all on the number of students that a school van may carry and capped this off with the declaration that any school vehicle carrying more than the prescribed number of students would be blacklisted.

This was followed by notifications from the department concerned striking the same line and one hopes that the Government takes it beyond the understanding of an announcement and a notification and see whether this standing order is being adhered to or not.

As suggested by The Sangai Express earlier, the Government should also reach out to all the private schools to enforce the number of students each van may carry.

Such a move will add that much more teeth to the measures announced by the Government.

There are pressing issues, no doubt, but the safety of school going kids cannot be compromised and going to school should be made more fun and packing them off like sardines in a can is not exactly making the process of going to school any fun.