The numerous initiatives undertaken by the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) during the short period since taking office needs to be appreciated. Due credit must go to the DMC under the leadership of its Chairperson Y Vikheho Awomi who is proving to be an able administrator and looks to possess all the necessary qualities required of a public leader. One hopes that under him the DMC will bring about the necessary changes in improving the city’s landscape.
That Dimapur has grown manifold times is well manifested by the expansion of the city beyond its present holding capacity. This in turn has led to a surfeit of infrastructural problems stemming from its growing size which in turn is leading to overcrowding and the problem of congestion.
Reports of the Dimapur Municipal Council shifting unauthorized and illegal footpath vendors from the congested premises especially New Market, Below Flyover (Near Hongkong Market) and Church Road to the more spacious new daily market at Supermarket Complex is a welcome move and should be seen in the overall context of streamlining the city landscape into a more systematic urban setting.
Putting in money into cities is one thing but solving problems of cities in the long run calls for joint efforts between the administration, municipal bodies and civil society groups. One way of looking at the overall problem is to understand that cities are made up of people, not just buildings and streets. So, it is people who must change if city life is to improve. And if drug abuse, prostitution, pollution, environmental decay, and congestion are to be eliminated, more is required than mere administrative orders or police presence. People must be willing to make changes in their thinking and behaviour.
While Dimapur, has every potential to grow into a major metropolitan hub in the coming future, one of the issues that must be addressed is on how best the overall administration relating to the city’s planning and management can be streamlined in such a manner that several issues can be handled through a single window mechanism. Here, the municipal bodies should be allowed to play a bigger role.
Traffic congestion is one facet of the problem and in places like Kohima and Dimapur this is already leading to environmental and health hazards. Traffic congestion causes not only travel delay but leads to fuel waste and consequently high level of pollution and health hazards. The solution to this problem cannot come from municipal bodies like those functioning in Dimapur or Kohima alone. It will require commitment from the public and other state and local officials to identify projects, programs and policies that can bring about solutions to the problem.
The initiative of the DMC to make the city more spacious is a welcome move given that it has not always been easy to bring changes in terms of city planning as, for instance the removal of slum dwellings is a politically explosive problem faced in major Indian cities and more often then not municipal authorities have had to back out under political pressure of the high and mighty.
