Dimapur, March 6 (MExN): The Youth Wing of the National People's Party (NPP), Nagaland state, on Friday called on the Indian Air Force to consider conducting combat aircraft maneuvers in “areas which are unpopulated or regions which are not major civilian centers.”
“We, the people, humbly thank them for their dedication and sacrifice they make for the nation and understand the need for India’s pilots to practice and hone their skills to protect the sovereignty of the nation; however, due to the consistent sonic boom, citizens are being exposed to far reaching consequences like shock, uneasiness and borderline agitation,” a press release from NPP Youth Wing General Secretary (Org) Jaser Meru stated.
“With the current situation in Nagaland with multiple factions negotiating with the Government of India, there is a sense of unease when a large explosion rocks the very foundations of buildings,” the release added.
It further stated that the lack of notification to the public of when we will have to endure the shocks of sonic booms can quite startle everyone. These unannounced shocks can have detrimental consequences on the public as it projects that the forces in charge of this are having an apathetic view towards the people of Dimapur in particular and Nagaland as a state in general, it said.
Further, the statement claimed that such shocks can threaten the life of heart patients causing undue trauma and may lead to several psychological problems to many people especially pregnant women, newborn babies and old people. Other possible ramifications of these explosions we are experiencing can be that of damage to standing buildings, the shattering of glass panes, which if any public standing below may be put into a life threatening situation, the statement read.
There have been several occasions where it was found that newly casted and constructed buildings, which were not seasoned developed irreparable cracks and damage due to tremor waves of the sonic boom, it claimed.
The statement also cited a report by Consumer Protection and Environmental Health Service, Public Health Service, US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and said that sonic booms have marked effects on behavior and subjective experience as exemplified by startle reactions and attendant feelings of fear. Listing the effects of exposure to sonic booms such as disruption of sleep, rest and relaxation, interference with communications, etc, the NPP Youth Wing requested that the Air Force “or whichever armed forces are responsible cease its exercises over Dimapur and adjoining areas including other places in Nagaland and conduct its exercises in areas which are unpopulated or regions which are not major civilian centers.”
