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var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″The blast yesterday at Sangakpham in Imphal at a crowded market which killed four, including two children, and injured seven, was dastardly…

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Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/JVYtPGJUm0o/

var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″The protest over the bomb blast on August 1 is overwhelming and also cuts across communities and political parties, as it indeed should be….

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Before the onset of the monsoon, we had called the attention of the government in several editorials to potholes that had appeared on several major roads in Imphal, warning that if these were not mended in time, the monsoon waters would wash away the rather thin bitumen linings in and around these potholes, damaging the roads much more extensively. Despite these urgent appeals, the government refused to pay any heed, and now the conditions of these roads are there for everybody to see. One of the worst damaged areas is the one adjacent to the Andro Parking on the eastern side of the All India Radio, Imphal complex. There was a huge unattended pothole here for a long time and once it started raining, water accumulated in it and seeped into the earth and pebble bed the road rested on and weakened its foundation. The road has since been literally washed away leaving huge pits, and because these are now filled with rainwater, are virtually invisible, therefore extremely hazardous for motorists. Now that the thin bitumen cover has been washed away and the innards exposed for public view, even sycophants of the powers that be will think twice before defending the quality of work put into the making of these roads. Other than the Andro Parking area, the Uripok Road at the base of the B.T. Road flyover has to be seen to be believed. This relatively recently made road is now reduced to a dirt road. The RIMS Road from Nagamapal all the way to the point where it joins the Uripok Road is another stretch that would put anybody in a depression.

Much of these damages, and the consequent inconveniences and dangers thrust on thousands of ordinary commuters everyday could have been saved if the authorities paid heed to the timeless saying that a stitch in time saves nine. The cost to the state exchequer that would have been saved by such prudence is imaginable too. But then, as they say public property is nobody’s property, and those in the government who are entrusted precisely with these public properties are the ones who care the least about their charge. If this were not so, what we are now seeing in the capital Imphal would not have been possible. Furthermore, if this is what is happening in the capital, anybody can imagine what is happening in districts, the remote ones in particular. Yet, despite the obvious failure, and despite the avoidable waste of public funds, nobody will be held accountable for the mess. None of those involved in building these roads too would be fazed by the fact that the roads they built cannot stand the test of even one monsoon. Nobody takes pride in the work they do anymore, neither those actually contracted to do the job, nor those who awarded them these contracts, nor those entrusted to certify the compliance of standard of the jobs done. What everyone in the chain would have been interested in would undoubtedly be lining their pockets from the collaborative spinoffs they create from the entire process. In fact, it would not be very wrong to presume that there is a vested interest at work in building these roads not too well so that they are rebuilt practically every year so that the cycle of collaborative looting of public funds is ensured.

This is depressing. But this is also unfortunately what Manipur has become. It has lost all sense of social altruism and those leading the charge are those in power. But the call now must be not of witch hunting. It is not too late to make amends. Let a new work culture be introduced in the state. The effort has to begin with the government. It must first of all strive to introduce some structural changes apart from a stricter monitoring system of its infrastructure construction works. In this regard, it is surprising that in all of its developmental projects, including road construction, the government has not thought of factoring in the cost for maintenance. Nothing lasts forever, however well built, but the government should have known their longevity is directly proportional to the quality of their upkeep. The maintenance does not have to be always major overhauls, but mending little patches of damages so as to prevent them from setting off a progressive and ultimately total atrophy. The road stretch near the Andro Parking and the Uripok Road at the base of the BT Flyover are two loud example of this serious and indeed criminal oversight of the government. What has happened cannot be undone, but we at least hope the government would take note of the matter and do the needful so as to prevent a repeat. But then, we suppose this appeal would probably be as ridiculous as asking compulsive kleptomaniacs not to steal.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/no-stitches-in-time/

One of the conditions put forward by the United Naga Council, UNC, for resolution to the SADAR (Special Area Demarcated Autonomous Region) Hills is to arrive at a consensus on the issue amongst the concerned people. Should not the government be exploring this suggested route? Should not it for instance try having those demanding the separate district status for the SADAR Hills sub-division and those opposing the idea meet across the table and arrive at such a consensus? Since the dispute predictably is unlikely to be resolved so easily across the table between the two parties, should not it be prudent for the government to make the agenda of such a dialogue be centred around evolving an objective criterion for arriving at this rather amorphous notion of the will of the people? Perhaps, this would be about a referendum of sorts, where the domicile of the sub-division are called upon to vote on whether the SADAR Hills should be made a separate district or else remain a sub-division of the Senapati district. Why is the government delaying to facilitate such a joint meeting? Maybe it is an understandable cynicism that this would be of no point, as these offers of arriving at a people’s consensus is only another way of saying no to any compromised settlement, but at least the gesture would pass on the ball to the court of those who served it in the first place. At this moment, because of the lack of initiative from its side on this count, the government is appearing to be at fault for the continued impasse.

It is true the government has set up a district demarcation committee to study the feasibility of the various demands for new districts. As a column in the last Sunday issue of the IFP suggested, perhaps there should be plenty more districts. He had suggested 25 districts for the hill administration. This would mean 25 deputy commissioners and a reciprocal number of subordinate staff. The argument is, the area to be handled being thus greatly reduced, administration would also become proportionately easier. The only lacuna in this proposition is, ultimately primacy of any administration is people and not area, and that many of the new districts may not have enough people to administer, perhaps to the extent of the employees of the administration outnumbering the number of people to be administered. Employees of the child welfare department responsible for running the Central government’s Anganwadi programme will vouch this. In the rural areas of the hills, each Anganwadi centre which is supposed to cater to a 1000 population often ends up caring for as little as just two families which sometimes do not have any children of school going age, almost making the programme redundant. The suggestion however is something to look into. A balance must be struck between spatial spread of population distribution and its thick concentration in a small area. Both present different challenges. The more sparse and spread the population, the more uphill the task of ensuring benefits of administration reach the beneficiaries. On the other hand, even though in towns and cities the population may be much more concentrated and thereby spatially much easy to cover, logistically it also means there are more people to look after, more children to feed and educate etc thereby more material and personnel to accomplish the mission. The committee now looking into the matter will know best what criterion it would have to set for itself to come up with proposals for solutions to the problems.

As of now, although it is the most pronounced, SADAR Hills is not the only area wanting to be recognized as a separate district. The state has heard the echoes of similar demands coming from Tengnoupal sub-division in the Chandel district, Phungyar sub-division in the Ukhrul district, Khoupam sub-division in the Tamenglong district, Jiribam sub-division in the Imphal East district, and we are certain there will be more if there are any indication that creation of new districts are a possibility. This last consideration cannot be brushed aside, for what may actually happen may be the opening of the proverbial Pandora’s Box. Whatever the case may be, we hope the committee, headed by the state chief secretary, D.S. Poonia, gives weight to considerations of administrative convenience and not ethnic boundaries, imaginary or otherwise. If the state had only one category of territory, and not reserved and non-reserved ones as is the reality, matters of such divisions would have been much simpler, for then there could have been only spatial spread of population and thereby proximity of population to district headquarters could have been the prime determinant. But this is not to be for as we have written earlier, merging reserved and non-reserved territory may be administratively convenient, but in the exercise of the political right of franchise, solution defying constitutional crisis can and indeed would ultimately result.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/resolve-the-crisis/

The thaw of the deadlock over the proposed upgrade of the SADAR Hills subdivision of Senapati district into a full-fledged district at this moment seems unlikely with those demanding it as well as those opposing it remaining stubbornly fixed in their respective confrontational stances. While the difference is understandable though not desirable, probably under normal circumstance everybody would have given the two parties all the time and space they need to settle their differences. However, what is also a fact is that the circumstance is far from normal, for either of the two parties has imposed a blockade of the state’s lifelines as a way of announcing the seriousness of their intents. So, even as this standoff is happening, essential commodities in the state are not only sky rocketing but beginning to disappear from the markets. Quite predictably, if this continues for much longer, this state which has just recovered from another prolonged blockade just last year may lose its sanity, and in the worst case scenario, even street rioting may be the result. The government therefore cannot afford to treat the matter lightly or without a sense of urgency.

It does however seem the government is inclined to consider creating the SADAR Hills district, and so also some others. The chief minister, Okram Ibobi, has announced on the floor of the Assembly that a committee headed by the chief secretary D.S. Poonia has been set up to study possible demarcations of the districts to see the feasibility of the proposed districts, but also added the sole criterion in this onerous project would be administrative convenience. Presuming the SADAR Hills district comes to be created after making the necessary boundary demarcations and adjustments, as well as seeking the demanded consensus of the people, we can foresee some hiccups still. Today the tussle seems to be between two hill communities, the Nagas and Kukis, but the district can also throw up potential frictions between its proponents and farmers in the valley districts, for SADAR Hills touches valley area as well. Ordinarily this would not have been a problem, for there is nothing that says a farmer or for that matter any citizen cannot have landed properties in more than one district but as we had earlier pointed out, there is an extraordinary dimension to land issues in Manipur. This is because the state has revenue districts, which are the valley districts, and the non-revenue districts, which are by and large the hill districts. Under this dispensation, non tribals cannot own land in the non-revenue districts. So if in the demarcation of the SADAR Hills district, land owned by Meitei farmers becomes incorporated, the dispossessed farmers will definitely not agree. Imagine if Langol hills, parts of Lamphel, Andro village foothills, Nongmaijing hill etc, are suddenly made non-revenue area, there would be sparks flying everywhere again. Moreover, as we had argued before in these columns, serious constitutional crisis can result in the future in matters of citizens losing their franchise rights. To take the Moreh example again, supposing tomorrow a Meitei or for that matter a Tamil domicile holding Indian passport decides to file nomination for the Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency, we can imagine what uproar this would result in. Constitutionally however, we cannot think how this hypothetical candidature could be dismissed. But if administrative convenience is the key consideration, it would make no sense for Langol Hills or Lamphel or the Nongmaijing Hills to be administered from the SADAR Hills headquarters at Kangpokpi. Perhaps the commission working on the demarcation of district boundaries would be seeking to address such problems as well, and if so the possible bad scenario we sketched above would be redundant.

There is another way out. If at all SADAR Hills district becomes a reality, the government must consider the possibility of making it a revenue district, or some similar arrangement so that nobody ends up dispossessed. Imphal becoming split into Imphal East and West had no problem, because nobody ended up dispossessed even if some farmers ended up with their paddy fields split between the two districts. Ideally, the creation of any new district or the splitting of existing ones into more parts should have been as was the case of Imphal becoming two revenue districts. Although it may still not be time for equal land laws for the hills and valley, the problem the state is faced with now should serve as an indicator some sort of parity is long overdue.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/more-sadar-spectre/