Our Correspondent
Kohima | August 2
The water scarcity problem in the state capital apparently has the government frustrated as clearly displayed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio in the recent meeting on law and order here, where the Chief Minister got emotional when he made an appeal to the neighbouring villages to donate water to the citizens of Kohima – emphasising that Kohima belongs to the Nagas as a whole and not to one particular tribe.
The Chief Minister was visibly frustrated when he mentioned that the neighbouring villages have not come out to offer water to the capital despite repeated appeals and made an emotional appeal to the villages to donate water for the parched capital town. Acknowledging that Kohima Village and some other neighbouring villages have generously donated land for establishment of the state capital, he urged the villages having surplus water to come forward and show a similar gesture, stressing that people from all walks of life are converged in Kohima.
Obviously frustrated, he regretted that whereas the government had received sanction for drinking water in Kohima and works to tap water had started in 2005, talks with the villages had yielded no results, stalling the project. Reminding the gathering that no civilization can survive without proper drinking water supply, he urged the owners of lands having water sources to be open-minded and willingly donate water and solve the water scarcity problem in the state capital.
