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| Republic Day celebrations at Jameri in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district. The occasion was inaugurated by circle officer Subhash Gurung |
All is not well in the Ima Keithel (women market) and two other similar markets in Manipur’s capital. Trouble began when the Okram Ibobi Singh government announced the Centre’s approval of a Rs 45-crore project for reconstruction of the three women markets — the Ima Keithel, Lakshmi Bazar and the New Market. A section of the vendors put up stiff opposition to the project, saying the reconstruction would destroy the traditional features of the market. Those opposed to the project began sleeping inside the market, ostensibly “to foil any forcible construction at night”. The problem did not end there though. Conflicts often broke out when those sleeping inside the marketplace after the day’s business threatened those unwilling to sleep in the market by saying that they would not be allowed to continue their business inside the marketplace if they did not participate in the “night vigil”. This often led to confrontation among women vendors. The Okram Ibobi Singh government, happy that it could rope in the support of a section of vendors, is mum about the vigil. Even police personnel deployed for night patrol turned the other way. The state government is now hoping that the vigilante vendors would be bored out of their minds one day. Divide and rule?
The formation of three new districts in Nagaland was met with a lot much enthusiasm last year. The new districts — Peren, Longleng and Kiphire — were earlier considered to be “far-flung areas”. Of course they will now be “far-flung districts”, but the question is of the inauguration of the first one, at present in Kohima district. Kiphire was inaugurated without hiccups but Longleng weathered problems. Chief minister Neiphiu Rio flew all the way in the chopper last week but could not land because of inclement weather in the hill town. Those who thought that all their problems would be resolved once the town’s status was upgraded were disappointed. The pilot finally made it safely — on Republic Day. Now, the site for the district headquarters in Peren is said to have become the bone of contention between two ministers — Vatsu Meru and T.R. Zeliang — hailing from the district. The problem, however, is beyond politics and in the realm of real estate, say sources. An agreement has been reached between the Zeliang leaders. But property at the Lamhai-Dungki is apparently the spanner. Some “land sharks” who have bought the property at cheap prices are said to be gunning for the spot, sources said.
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| Neiphiu Rio |
Slashing numbers in the council of ministers in Nagaland may have been postponed till July. The issue, however, occupies top slot in the political mindspace. There are 37 portfolios in the state, including that of the chief minister. Neiphiu Rio is now juggling with two things — political parties and diverse tribes in the state. Ruled by a coalition, Nagaland’s politics may have to travel through some troughs before it reaches stability after the changes are effected. The council now has ministers from various tribes and different coalition partners.
A balance has been struck and almost everyone seems pleased. Several defections followed the formation of the government and the Congress was the loser then.
But most of the four MLAs, now with the NPF and who have become ministers, are likely to lose their berths. After all, Rio has a host of partners to satisfy with ministerial portfolios. “Almost 15,” said a source, referring to the ceiling on the council of ministers. The Centre has said 12, but two delegations later and Rio’s reach into the Prime Minister’s Office may yield him a little. However, the Congress is gloating and the young chief minister may need more than just jugglery to put the genies in the bottles.
The health status of the general population in Assam continues to be a cause of worry for the state’s policy-framers and administrators. In health-related matters like immunisation of children in the age-group of 12 to 23 months, the track record is dismal. There is persistent night blindness, the nutritional status is poor, as is the rate of professionally-assisted deliveries. This has raised doubts about the efficacy of the health mandarins in every nook and corner of this backward state. According to a recent compilation of data released by the Union health ministry, only 22 per cent of the children in the state in the age-group of 12 to 23 months are fully immunised as against the national figure of 38. Assam has also notched up a dubious record of having 165,000 children between 24 and 59 months suffering from night blindness. This is the highest incidence of the disease among children in the country, with the state edging past Bihar — another area of darkness where the scourge of night blindness is 15.5 per 1,000 children in the same age group. The lack of administration of vitamin A supplements causes such disasters among children.
The nutritional profile of children in Assam is also abysmal, where 21 per cent children are considered to be underweight — again the highest in the country.
The professionally-assisted delivery rate is very low in Assam with only one out of every five mothers getting it.
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Road rage
If the road is bad, then make it worse by either digging it in the middle or putting up logs or boulders to block it. And yes, this is proving to be the best method to draw the attention of the government in Manipur. Angry road users of many localities had resorted to this method earlier and it had yielded results, too. Inspired by the examples and frustrated with the government apathy to the dilapidated Imphal-Saikul Road, residents of not less than 30 villages in the Khundrakpam constituency dug up the road on January 21. Logs and boulders were placed on top of this and the road blocked. According to the villagers, the road has not been repaired in over 10 years and its condition is now “horrible”. The residents even announced boycott of L. Lala Singh, the local MLA, who is also the deputy Speaker. No doubt this action caused a lot of inconvenience to the users of the road, but it initiated prompt action from the government. It called a meeting of the leaders of the villages and promised to get repair started within 10 days. The promise was made by none other than the works minister, Gaikhangam himself. The residents are now happy that they were finally able to draw the attention of the government to their plight.
