The highway impasse is yet to be resolved. The law and order situation is far from normal and the financial condition is in the pits. The situation is not helped much by the presence of an ineffective Government whose only claim to fame is successfully completing 100 days in office and a bureaucracy that is burdened by the excess weight of its own sense of self-importance and pomposity.
Gunmen still continue to call the shot on the highways and extortion in the name of everything conceivable under the sun continue to thrive and in some cases have become mini industries providing employment to quite a few number of frustrated youths, educated and uneducated alike. In the absence of any effective governance, it is not surprising to see the rise of so many voluntary organizations who have appointed themselves as guardians and moral policemen of society.
Even prices of goods are fixed by voluntary organizations during festival times and while this may add a feather or two in the cap of the organization concerned it puts the Government in a very poor light. The police are no longer the first place that the aggrieved people first approach but the press, and this somehow reveals and exposes the deep rot that has sunk into every aspect of the Manipuri life.
In the hinterlands white collared officers and political chamchas are treated like demi Gods and the situation has come to such a pass that villagers thank these officers for laying the road for which funds have been sanctioned and released by the Government! Or better still, it is not uncommon to see villagers heaping words of praise on big wig officers for making kerosene available to the people. The fact that these officers are there to discharge their duties seem to have been overlooked for the simple reason that down the years we have developed a system where governance has come to mean serving the interest of the Government employees and the political class.
We hopelessly continue to cling to the past without realizing that the rest of the country has moved ahead, far ahead. So while States like Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh continue to get the lion's share of the funds allocated by the North Eastern Council, Manipur continue to get pittance. Even Nagaland has moved far ahead of us and all it will need to establish this is to take a ride over the much maligned NH-39. The stretch of the highway that runs through Manipur is pure hell while once one crosses Mao and enters the territory of Nagaland the big difference is perceptible.
The health sector too continues to be caught in a time warp and the most disturbing trend is to see the number of allegations and cases filed against doctors. So as our Ministers and their family members and our bureaucrats go to New Delhi, Mumbai, Vellore or even Guwahati for any medical treatment, people here, especially in the remote and far flung hilly areas continue to die from such minor ailments as diarrhea and fever, as reported in this paper some days back. Government employees know how to put the pressure on the Government to buckle to their demands for perks and other benefits but the same cannot be said when it comes to their work.
Today Manipur has become synonymous with bandhs, boycott and diktats from each and every conceivable organization. The driving force behind each of these organizations also appears to be the same- in public interest. Quality education has become somewhat of a fashion statement in recent times but none think twice about imposing a bandh that severely affect the academic pursuit of the young students. Of course all these are done in the interest of the public. With so many organizations espousing the cause of the public we wonder why the State continues to lag behind others in so many respect. Let's think over this.
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)
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