Ruovihulie Angami
B.A, B.Ed. Rtd. Jt. Director of School Education Nagaland Kohima
Proposal for Tree plantation in Kohima City; Traffic Point at High School Area, Kohima; No Parking of Vehicles on both sides of the Road, Kohima/School-timing for students transportation/office timing for Office-goers; Disposal of waste materials to the waste collection centres, by the shopkeepers/ pedestrians; Retail prices/schools, colleges tuition fees/medical treatment fees at private clinic by taking round of the city once in a week to see public movement/Taxi & Mini Bus stands/Market places; Prevention of over-loaded Lorry Trucks/six-wheeler Loktak project construction materials on NH-29, in collaboration with your counterpart DC Dimapur during rainy seasons.
With the subject cited above I for one humbly submit this proposal to your esteemed authority for your perusal and necessary action thereof for the welfare/interest of Kohima district in general and the Kohima in particular on common interest regarding the beautification of Kohima Town as a Smart City which is under contemplation as the first District of Nagaland State.
1. That Sir, way back in 2015, I brought forward such proposals to your previous predecessor for necessary action but could not be accepted due to his less initiative on this issue. I therefore hereby propose the same venture to be taken up by your high authority by giving a standing /strong order so that every resident of our city may kindly be instructed to plant at least 3 nos. of trees (a local species- one cherry, one bogonia (tego local dialect) one silver oack trees) within their residential areas (vicinity) where there are no electric wires which may block their growth in future, and also to nurture them for atleast 2 years so that the city may become flowering tree land (within 2-5 years to avoid a comment from foreign tourists that “Kohima is a beautiful girl without hair” because the old ornamental trees planted during the last 4-5 decades have been dying out and now no new plantation is taken place all these years. Also a particular tree by name (sopfüciekhrie in local dialect) may be planted in large number at the major land-slide prone/sinking areas as a humble attempt to minimize the occurrence/prevent further as a precautionary measures as being done in China as reported. And once this project is taken up, Kohima Municipal Council (K.M.C) can implement such directives in letter and spirit with the help and co-operation of all the Panchayats in all the 19 Wards of the city but not just free distribution of tree saplings which was a failure venture in the past and also the defaulters may be noted seriously by the concerned authority(s) to be taken up in this ongoing plantation season. And for the success of this venture, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and the District Forest Officer, Kohima and his sub-ordinates may kindly be requested to arrange the tree saplings as and when a date is fixed for such major tree plantation day of Kohima City.
2. Provision of Traffic Points with traffic police from 6:00 A.M to 6:00 P.M at the tri-junction of High School Areas Kohima (i.e NH-62 joined by Dzüzie link Road or Rüzhükhrie Govt. Higher Secondary School Playground and Road towards IG Stadium/Meriema Village which have become serious accident prone areas to both vehicles and the pedestrians (identification of such spots in the form of maps/ sketches are attached herewith for early verification and necessary action. This same proposal was given to your previous predecessor with an information to KMC & North Police Station but all those concerned authorities could not materialize their respective action for implementation in the past. This may be kept on top priority as an urgent need of the people in this Kohima City.
3. Kohima city streets even main town areas are narrow enough but parking of vehicles even light vehicles on both sides of the roads/ streets makes them narrower and free passage for vehicular movements cannot be done especially during fire hazards (fire brigades cannot pass through to reach their nearest /furthest destinations in delivering necessary services in times of need. And your kind authority may issue a order to all concerned even the VIPs/Office-goers henceforth not to block the whole roads in the name of attending their scheduled office timings or functions/ programmes (they have to start early at home to maintain punctuality) and also not allowing any resident to block the main roads even footpath of pedestrians by their building materials /machineries beyond 24 hours failing which the defaulters may be exposed/ penalized by the authority concerned and even by the public. Also the broken materials which are lying on the roadside of the main city after works are done to protect the footpath be immediately removed especially your kind authority may also see that no over-loaded Lorry trucks.
4. To minimize traffic congestion in this city, let the students transportation timing be fixed from 7:30 am to 8:00 am and office-goers transportation timing be from 8:30 am to 9:30 am.
5. Exposing waste materials-loose papers, plastic waste materials, vegetables refuges, plastic bottles, cigarette bedi/biri waste pockets tobacco pockets used coughing syrup bottles, khaini dabas and even pan-chewing spitting marks in town/city areas are unwanted and therefore shopkeepers and even shoppers have to be warned not to indulge in such uncivilized manner and the waste dustbins or throwing away such waste materials here unhealthy habits for which especially the shopkeepers must strictly keep their respective shop adjacent areas at a certain radius even during day time from time to time. To implement this venture in toto, the KMC tax-collectors on parked-vehicles, police personnel in uniform, teachers and students community and even sanitation volunteers from local churches at certain reasons and even other religious groups may kindly take certain steps in the near future to keep the city clean and green against the label of keeping Kohima city as the last three clean city out of 420 cities in India surveyed recently conducted by the concerned agency. To this venture and implementation, the KMC CEO, The Angami Public organization (APO), the Angami Gazetted Officers’ Krotho (AGOK), the Angami Students Union (ASU) the Angami Youth Organization (AYO) and the Kohima based tribal organizations (NGOs) and Panchayats should give full cooperation towards the success of preparing Kohima as a “Smart city” as being initiated by Kohima Ao Baptist Arogo in painting all the footbridges and sanitation in the city and also the sanitation works being done by the Phom Baptist Church Kohima, even to the Naga Hospital premises from time to time as prayer walks not just prayer walks. And in spite of exposing the dirtiest areas in the city in my last article published in early 2015, still Kohima Village Gate areas at Mission Compound road; Central Bank building to MK Market, Kohima Local Ground areas. To make the idea clear to all concerned, all the stake-holders- Urban Directorate, Roads & Bridges, BRO/PWD etc. play their respective role how best this city can be developed. To execute and implement this venture, may I request your kind authority to go round the city once in a week or even to the villages of the district alongwith your forces including KMCs, CEO, respective colony panchayats in city areas and with your sub-ordinates- respective ADCs/Civil SDOs/EACs as and when situation arises.
6. Local or Regional Taxis should not over-tax the passengers especially during festivals but at certain fixed rates and city buses should move on even with less passengers but not be kept in their stands/stoppages like train boggies in train stations or the NST Buses at their stations waiting for their departure timings but to attend urgent/emergency cases of their passengers rights are ignored or the way-side passengers/streets are denied of getting proper sitting facility especially the old-aged persons or the children because the more these buses move/ or travel on, the higher they can earn than to take rest for a long time in queue at one station even from economic or commercial point of view. Henceforth only 3 mini buses should be allowed to halt at one mini bus stand not forgetting utilization of minor children as mini bus conductors which is against international child labour law and also allow only ladies to seat on the left side of the Mini buses for their safety. Also unusual vehicle horns or smokes releasing from their vehicle smoke pipes be properly penalized.
7. Retail prices of essential commodities including reasonable school/college fees from the well-established private schools/colleges and hostels fees as well as private clinics treatment fees i.e competition in low rate but not higher rate (unhealthy or negative competition in delivering services to the public on humanitarian ground but not for the sake of earning at the highest rate ignoring their customers’ interest or convenience who have no ability to pay the same or those government doctors drawing their non-practicing allowances by giving their part-time service to their regular Govt. service in Govt. Hospitals/ pharmacies/ health care centers should be checked. In short, the unscrupulous private schools/colleges/private hostels proprietors who are taking highest bids of fees in Class-11 & B.A 1st year in their Admission season and private clinics are taxing parent/ public in another form like some so called unauthentic/unauthorized underground factions/national workers for which we blame them. Let the ACAUT, NVCO interfer here for the interest of students, parents, public and even patients and their families under the care and guidance of your esteemed authority in the district in general and the Kohima city in particular.
All these expression for the district are being projected on the basis of freedom of expression as enshrined in the Fundamental Rights of a citizen towards the welfare and betterment of the district/ State against the recent statement/ directive of a certain so called Naga IAS Officer through the media after facing pressures from the elite NGOs and citizens who acted for the welfare and wishes of the public during the ULB protests in February, 2017 and the eligible citizens shall continue to do so even in the days to come till our Govt. realizes its mistakes committing against the will of the public in their right place.
On the light of the given words stated above, I as a senior citizen of Kohima City would like to request your esteemed authority to function with a heavy hand to discipline the citizens of Kohima district in every field and if at all you come forward to implement the above suggestions, all like-minded people will give their best co-operation to your initiatives in letter and spirit for the betterment of all common cause. In future also, I may bring some more of such view, suggestions/proposals for your kind necessary action and the public may also raise more such views in the days to come, so that Kohima City and its dwellers may live in peace and unity as a corrupt free and good governance in the district as the first district of Nagaland State to set an example to other district to follow suit even by exposing those 43 IAS officers in Nagaland who are refusing to declare their assets as shown in recent media.
