By Imkong Walling
Musing over the past is customary. So it is for editorial columns to indulge in some year-end opinion-sharing, continuing a tradition that includes taking a retrospective look at events that defined the year.
The intention, however, is to take the liberty to focus on one event in 2025, which happened a little over a month ago in November— one that had the distinction of having India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman as a guest.
The setting was Kiphire, an ‘Aspirational District.’ The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was on a visit reviewing the implementation of the Aspirational Districts Programme and the connected socio-economic indicators.
To digress a bit, the November 2025 visit happened to be Sitharaman’s third visit to Nagaland as a Union Minister. Her previous visit was in August 2022 when she had called for increased accessibility to banking and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment in the state. Her first was a brief tour of military posts on the Indo-Myanmar border in May 2018 as Defence Minister.
In her Kiphire itinerary was included the introduction of motorcycle ambulances for Primary Health Centres donated by the State Bank of India under its CSR initiative.
A first for Nagaland, the initiative sought to plug gaps in healthcare delivery, conceptualised as a quick-response solution in remote locations. While new to Nagaland, ambulance on two-wheelers already has a history of deployment in the developing world, including in ‘mainland’ India itself, and UN-funded projects found in Africa and Southeast Asia.
It, however, drew public ridicule, pilloried as among the most unfeasible health amenity undertakings the state has ever seen. Besides comfort and safety, the criticism in particular centred on the utility of the retrofitted vehicles in the state’s rugged hilly terrain, compounded by pathetic road conditions. It brought up claustrophobic images of pregnant women in labour or the injured bundled into a tiny cubicle, compelled to undergo agonisingly slow hours on rutted mountain roads to the nearest health facility.
The chatter the initiative raked up though was confined to social media, and the project seen through without much opposition on the ground. The society moved on.
Two days later, the Finance Minister defended the initiative at a press conference, asserting the suggestion came from the local health authorities. The health authorities apparently had not a clue about the condition of roads in Kiphire— or for that matter, across Nagaland.
According to her, ambulance on two-wheelers would be more effective than conventional ambulances in remote or emergency situations.
Credit goes to Sitharaman for being a good sport at the press conference. She insisted on fielding multiple queries even as a state bureaucrat frantically attempted to cut short the press interaction, while Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton sat by. “I’ll handle it. Don’t worry. They are free. They are journalists and I am in public life,” was how she put it.
The state government has a tradition of shielding visiting Ministers from the media, unless the VVIP guests themselves insist otherwise. The last time Sitharaman was in the state, she left barely a question into the press meet.
Reverting to the topic, it was about two weeks before the United Sangtam Students’ Conference (USSC) wrote to the Kiphire district health authority expressing displeasure, and seeking explanation.
Labelling the motorcycle ambulances impractical, the union sought clarification on who proposed and approved the initiative. Questioning the Finance Minister’s stance, it demanded their replacement with conventional ambulances.
Whether the government intends to recall the ambulances remains to be seen. In the meantime, it is worth putting their utility to the test, while ensuring the motorcycles do not fall into neglect, or become the personal transport of departmental staff.
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to imkongwalls@gmail.com
