Morung Express News
Mokokchung | August 3
On the third and final day of the ongoing Tsüngremmung Hornbill Festival Mokokchung 2018, PWD Minister Tongpang Ozüküm while speaking as special guest echoed the words of the Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio that Nagas should “not eat but sow the seeds provided by the government and multiply” and discouraged the people to claim loans and subsidies from various government and other agencies if they were not genuinely committed to executing their projects.
He cited the example of the Mokokchung Entrepreneurs Consortium, who, he said, have judiciously utilized the grant given to them by the government in 2012-13 and the results of which were there for everybody to see in their progress report magazine that was formally released by the chief minister yesterday. “Thanks to MEC for making Mokokchung proud and for contributing towards economic development,” he added.
The young political leader also called upon his Ao community to remain united “to face the uncertainties” in the event of a “conclusion to the Naga political problem being arrived at.”
The former AKM leader also cautioned that the publication of Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) has shown more than 40 lakhs of illegal immigrants which he said was twice the number of Nagaland’s population and added that Naga people must remain vigilant more than ever. He expressed concern that there was possibility of exodus of illegal immigrants from Assam and their unabated influx into Nagaland. Recalling the “Survival Mokokchung” campaign against illegal immigration initiated by AKM since 2007, he expressed appreciation to the people of Mokokchung for their cooperation and said that Mokokchung district was “clean” because the people cooperated.
He also added that the state government was working hard on pursuing the Trans Nagaland Highway, formerly called Foothill Road, and requested the Ao Senden to continue to lead the way and also requested the people to “give land for development.”
He also clarified that the Mini Hornbill Festival was a policy of the PDA government that was promulgated not because the government was given to merrymaking but with the sole objective of preserving and promoting native culture and traditions, to foster unity and to promote tourism. While conveying his Tsüngremmung greetings to the people, Tongpang Ozüküm also hoped that the blessings would be manifold next year and harvests bountiful, “not just in agriculture but in all professions.”
