As one travel down town during peak hours from BOC to High school junction, the excruciating traffic woes (sum of all woes) amidst the horrific worn out road is too acquainted to elaborate further for anybody who visited Kohima which is not quite a sight to savor. But that is just one woes of Kohima known more for hard life it offers than a capital.
Kohima, a naturally beautiful god gifted piece of land would have been a slice of heaven on earth if equally reciprocated by human action. But unfortunately this is not so & Kohima could undoubtedly be the worst capital in the country with little or no town planning. Infact Kohima road is a perfect example of police state where roads are just enough for security personnel, ministers, VIPs, etc to pass through for defense and policing rather than for the welfare or convenience of the citizen. Monsoon comes & roads are washed away or ditched and potholed at every stretched, dry season arrive & its full of dust. Added to the woes are scarcity of water, housing, exorbitant cost of living, et.etc. the list go on. the only main lifeline, national highway could afford to be blocked not for week, but months together with no means to withstand the same at a time when people in other part of the world are contemplating of damming & diverting rivers like Brahmaputra unhindered by mountainous & rough terrain for thousand of Km. Living in a country of world 4th largest economy (India) yet with a capital so pathetic as Kohima is a narcissistic self pity.
Since the beginning, there was one road, at end of 2011, there is still only one road from one end of the town to another end, ever narrow & congested. Certain things like road can't be built by individuals but by govt. or community. Compounded to this road problem is the unsocial bend of mind of landowners who poses undue hindrance whenever, the colonies tries to build one at their own end in the colonies. In hilly capital like Kohima, transportations poses a major problem & roads are precursors for town to expand & grow for which tremendous roads should be built at every viable prefecture of the town.
Kohima could be one of those few places where water gushes forth at every cranny left & right of the town but no drinking water for citizens. It has been reduced to seeming obsoleteness with all few available regional offices (govt. & non-governmental) located away from the capital sans state offices & things like central examination venues are shifted away one after another for the reason better known to themselves. But these are sure sign that Kohima is loosing it lustre. The latest national paper like ‘The Hindu' reaches the capital normally to days late. The lone university is located far away in the inaccessible jungle which should have been in the capital or near the capital (another manifestation of sick Naga society).
One wonders what comes into the mind of our big Whig ministers & VIPs when they walked the sizzling tinsel mega cities with regard to rusting street of our capital & Nagaland a whole. Sometime it appears like being unfamiliar with urban culture in our historical evolution, a thing called town planning seems a typical nature of our stark mentality. Some 5000 years back it has been told of highly advanced town planning like the harrapans but even at the fag end of 21st century when others have reached stars & space, we are yet to undertake proper town planning.
One may cite reason of fund crunch, but the fact is, Nagaland receive one of the highest fund among small states. According to 13th finance commission, Nagaland fund is triple of Goa & Sikkim, highest among NE state only after Assam. Kohima is not the only hilly capital in India, nor heavy rain falls only in Kohima neither the only place facing unrest. Being the first state created after only Assam in NE, its surprising that other capitals are progressing far ahead while our is almost rusting. Its unfortunate that we have to always compare ourselves with others rather than others comparing us with them. For once did we care to look at the condition of our roads before we cry for a thing like sovereignty or independence? Even now when we could be so pathetic even when funded 100% what guarantee do we have in the so called new Nagaland where we will have to fund ourselves. Kohima had dubiously become one of the costliest towns after Mumbai & East Delhi, quite unnatural of a place that don’t pay tax to govt. then there is shortage of housing & thus the exorbitant rent which then brings the whole concept under the theory of demand & supply. For Kohima to be the capital of the Nagas in truest sense, every affordable person should have a house in capital at reasonable rate or affordable rent for accommodation.
Ten year hereon, what would be the condition of the capital is not hard to guess if present problem persist. New cars are added everyday but the road. Houses are compact tight with no space for public recreation or playground for kids in the colonies.
Two things perfectly mismatches Kohima street of what may be called a total misfit; driving brand new posh SUV/MUV cars down the suffocating jam pack ditch filled road(straight self mockery), and a gorgeous damsel in glamorous apparel ramping down the lane (direct self disgrace). One thing would perfectly match with our street; a rag-tag ragamuffin rebels straight from African wild driving down the horrific road in mad frenzy with all their Kalashnikovs. No wonder, when our ministers/VIPs whiz pass the jam pack road in their limousines, they appear a complete valiant. Our street is not devoid of latest branded cars and posh building but exceedingly deplorable road brings to the notion that few are stinking rich at the expense of public fund. For sane right thinking citizen, its not difficult for any heart to sink or frustrated seeing the dismal state of affairs. If Kohima is the mirror of Nagaland than definitely Nagaland in general is not at its best with all those raving madding nationalist and ever corrupt govt. Multiple govt to loot & rob the people but none to lift their plight. For a set of people who can afford to cry sovereignty, independence or self determination, shouldn’t just fail to plan their town or build their roads. Kohima traffic, water problem, etc is not a rocket science, surely something can be done.
By virtue of being local inhabitant, the people of Kohima, conurbating & coterminous villages & the district as a whole have a huge role to play if Kohima is to sustain as capital in the long run. Not that people may ask but circumstances would compel it if present problem simmers. When people can afford to cry new state, shift of capital is not impossibility if circumstances demands. Ulysses may be sailing away & the local people of Ithaca can't afford to be only busy making money.
Kohima, a naturally beautiful god gifted piece of land would have been a slice of heaven on earth if equally reciprocated by human action. But unfortunately this is not so & Kohima could undoubtedly be the worst capital in the country with little or no town planning. Infact Kohima road is a perfect example of police state where roads are just enough for security personnel, ministers, VIPs, etc to pass through for defense and policing rather than for the welfare or convenience of the citizen. Monsoon comes & roads are washed away or ditched and potholed at every stretched, dry season arrive & its full of dust. Added to the woes are scarcity of water, housing, exorbitant cost of living, et.etc. the list go on. the only main lifeline, national highway could afford to be blocked not for week, but months together with no means to withstand the same at a time when people in other part of the world are contemplating of damming & diverting rivers like Brahmaputra unhindered by mountainous & rough terrain for thousand of Km. Living in a country of world 4th largest economy (India) yet with a capital so pathetic as Kohima is a narcissistic self pity.
Since the beginning, there was one road, at end of 2011, there is still only one road from one end of the town to another end, ever narrow & congested. Certain things like road can't be built by individuals but by govt. or community. Compounded to this road problem is the unsocial bend of mind of landowners who poses undue hindrance whenever, the colonies tries to build one at their own end in the colonies. In hilly capital like Kohima, transportations poses a major problem & roads are precursors for town to expand & grow for which tremendous roads should be built at every viable prefecture of the town.
Kohima could be one of those few places where water gushes forth at every cranny left & right of the town but no drinking water for citizens. It has been reduced to seeming obsoleteness with all few available regional offices (govt. & non-governmental) located away from the capital sans state offices & things like central examination venues are shifted away one after another for the reason better known to themselves. But these are sure sign that Kohima is loosing it lustre. The latest national paper like ‘The Hindu' reaches the capital normally to days late. The lone university is located far away in the inaccessible jungle which should have been in the capital or near the capital (another manifestation of sick Naga society).
One wonders what comes into the mind of our big Whig ministers & VIPs when they walked the sizzling tinsel mega cities with regard to rusting street of our capital & Nagaland a whole. Sometime it appears like being unfamiliar with urban culture in our historical evolution, a thing called town planning seems a typical nature of our stark mentality. Some 5000 years back it has been told of highly advanced town planning like the harrapans but even at the fag end of 21st century when others have reached stars & space, we are yet to undertake proper town planning.
One may cite reason of fund crunch, but the fact is, Nagaland receive one of the highest fund among small states. According to 13th finance commission, Nagaland fund is triple of Goa & Sikkim, highest among NE state only after Assam. Kohima is not the only hilly capital in India, nor heavy rain falls only in Kohima neither the only place facing unrest. Being the first state created after only Assam in NE, its surprising that other capitals are progressing far ahead while our is almost rusting. Its unfortunate that we have to always compare ourselves with others rather than others comparing us with them. For once did we care to look at the condition of our roads before we cry for a thing like sovereignty or independence? Even now when we could be so pathetic even when funded 100% what guarantee do we have in the so called new Nagaland where we will have to fund ourselves. Kohima had dubiously become one of the costliest towns after Mumbai & East Delhi, quite unnatural of a place that don’t pay tax to govt. then there is shortage of housing & thus the exorbitant rent which then brings the whole concept under the theory of demand & supply. For Kohima to be the capital of the Nagas in truest sense, every affordable person should have a house in capital at reasonable rate or affordable rent for accommodation.
Ten year hereon, what would be the condition of the capital is not hard to guess if present problem persist. New cars are added everyday but the road. Houses are compact tight with no space for public recreation or playground for kids in the colonies.
Two things perfectly mismatches Kohima street of what may be called a total misfit; driving brand new posh SUV/MUV cars down the suffocating jam pack ditch filled road(straight self mockery), and a gorgeous damsel in glamorous apparel ramping down the lane (direct self disgrace). One thing would perfectly match with our street; a rag-tag ragamuffin rebels straight from African wild driving down the horrific road in mad frenzy with all their Kalashnikovs. No wonder, when our ministers/VIPs whiz pass the jam pack road in their limousines, they appear a complete valiant. Our street is not devoid of latest branded cars and posh building but exceedingly deplorable road brings to the notion that few are stinking rich at the expense of public fund. For sane right thinking citizen, its not difficult for any heart to sink or frustrated seeing the dismal state of affairs. If Kohima is the mirror of Nagaland than definitely Nagaland in general is not at its best with all those raving madding nationalist and ever corrupt govt. Multiple govt to loot & rob the people but none to lift their plight. For a set of people who can afford to cry sovereignty, independence or self determination, shouldn’t just fail to plan their town or build their roads. Kohima traffic, water problem, etc is not a rocket science, surely something can be done.
By virtue of being local inhabitant, the people of Kohima, conurbating & coterminous villages & the district as a whole have a huge role to play if Kohima is to sustain as capital in the long run. Not that people may ask but circumstances would compel it if present problem simmers. When people can afford to cry new state, shift of capital is not impossibility if circumstances demands. Ulysses may be sailing away & the local people of Ithaca can't afford to be only busy making money.
