Watch the prices over the next six days

Imlisanen Jamir

As the Public Action Committee (PAC) of the Naga Council Dimapur begins its exercise against illegal collection from commercial vehicles at entry points to Dimapur, here’s an exercise that every citizen can follow. 


Over the six days—the duration for which the PAC exercise will last—people especially in Dimapur can gauge the impact, if any, it has on the price of goods here.  This is of course assuming that those engaged in illegal collections at the check gates are perturbed by the presence of volunteers who have been advised to report any illegal collection. 


A lack of change in the prices does not necessarily mean the non existence of problems at the check gates.  
For too long have people in the State lived under the cosh of unreasonably high prices for almost all forms of commodities in the market. From construction materials to food products, prices jump up (triple according to the PAC), as soon as they cross the State border into Nagaland.


It will be interesting to note how these ‘collectors’ (both state and non state), who have gone on with their activities openly, react in the next six days. The PAC has repeatedly made it clear that their volunteers will not interfere in the daily business of the police at the check gates; their role rather is to observe and report. 


Will they simply resume their ‘collections’ at other places? Or will they pause their activities for the duration of the exercise, and resume once the volunteers eventually leave. 


Meanwhile, it is difficult to seriously view the State Government’s September 14 notice warning departments and unions that action will be taken against those engaged in illegal collections. These collections have existed for so long and are deeply engrained in the state and social structure of the state. If the successive governments were at all determined to stop this practice, a lot of officials would have been held accountable.  


As for the PAC’s exercise, let us await their findings and whether it will have any impact on prices. The letter is doubtful. The PAC’s well intentioned exercise, if anything, lays bare the sorry state of affairs. It points to a reality where corruption is so entwined in the system, that any genuine move to address it is inevitably viewed through the lens of cynicism.


  
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