A day after flood waters receded, and people returned to their homes, the smell and look of Dimapur, the most developed and modern in the entire Naga Hills, was one of stink and garbage lying all around. People would have seen the newspaper photos of flood waters and the clogged drainage system, the latter being mostly blamed for the recurrence of flooding every time there is a heavy downpour. Indeed we are grappling with a dirty, stinking and clogged system of corruption, public apathy and plain incompetence all-round. State Capital Kohima, the commercial hub Dimapur and upcoming Mokokchung town should be role models for the rest of the State. But unfortunately urban development has not been able to keep pace with the increasing population and its accompanying challenges. Our urban centres are in a state of complete disarray. Although there is the Urban Development Department and the different Municipal Councils and Town Committees, the years of neglect has meant that we do not have a strong and efficient working system in place to tackle the myriads of urban related problems. We need to have our institutions put firmly in place so that we are able to rise up to the challenges.
We had experimented with municipal councils and smaller bodies but not much could be done by those who were elected to run these bodies. The power struggle and the absence of proper checks and balances had made these bodies dysfunctional and corrupt. Urban body elections are now kept in abeyance for whatever reasons and now we have the State government from Kohima directly running the affairs of the municipal through the appointment of Advisors. Technically it’s like Governors Rule has been imposed by the State government and for over a year now there is no elected council. Some may argue that the Advisors are doing a better job and they should be given more time to bring the Municipal Councils or Town Committees into proper shape and functioning. Whatever it is, it is clear that much more still needs to be done by those who run the affairs of our urban bodies, whether it is the elected people or the appointed Advisors. Public apathy must also end if we want to see transformation to a better system.
We had experimented with municipal councils and smaller bodies but not much could be done by those who were elected to run these bodies. The power struggle and the absence of proper checks and balances had made these bodies dysfunctional and corrupt. Urban body elections are now kept in abeyance for whatever reasons and now we have the State government from Kohima directly running the affairs of the municipal through the appointment of Advisors. Technically it’s like Governors Rule has been imposed by the State government and for over a year now there is no elected council. Some may argue that the Advisors are doing a better job and they should be given more time to bring the Municipal Councils or Town Committees into proper shape and functioning. Whatever it is, it is clear that much more still needs to be done by those who run the affairs of our urban bodies, whether it is the elected people or the appointed Advisors. Public apathy must also end if we want to see transformation to a better system.
What is required is collective effort to seek the change we want. We can start by doing some of the basic things correctly. For instance all of us are aware that ‘garbage’ is a big problem. The Morung Express has already done a comprehensive report on garbage and several suggestions have been put forward for the Municipal bodies to act upon. To remind, we need to get the entire garbage disposal system correct and functioning. While the public must also develop greater civic sense and cooperate, the local bodies have the responsibility to come up with a workable plan and design and enforce these rules. Why don’t we start by firstly prohibiting littering on the streets? This is actually a simple basic duty that should be taught in our homes and schools. And if we can’t get this right, we may well forget the others. The municipal bodies in Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung could begin by doing this i.e. to prohibit littering on the street and public places. It may take days, weeks, months or even years to educate the public about this cleanliness drive, nevertheless if we can discipline ourselves through such small steps as using dustbins; it will go a long way in enabling us to do other more difficult things such as garbage/waste management and collection. We really need to clean up the dirt quite literally.
