Morung Express News
Dimapur | September 4
It was liquor and pork that prompted Naga shoppers from Dimapur to venture beyond the New Field inter-state check-post into Lahorijan, Khatkhati, Bokajan and even upto Sarihajan. Now, a prompting of a different kind has increased traffic at the New Field check post on Sundays as shoppers turn to Lahorijan daily bazaar to meet basic household needs, which range from food items to toiletries to ‘paan-tamul’ and liquor on the side.
The NSCN (IM) decreeing shop closure on Sundays in Dimapur has come as a once-in-a-week windfall to shopkeepers in Lahorijan. The religious basis of the decree notwithstanding, the often easy-paced life in the small border township is transformed into a Sunday shopping paradise by people from Dimapur.
For a second Sunday in a row since the decree took effect, business in Lahorijan has appreciated. On September 4, one vegetable vendor said that sales have doubled unlike other Sundays in the past. Asked what could be the possible reason for the unusual increase in sales on a Sunday, the vendor said that he was initially puzzled but later came to know from acquaintances about the Sunday shop closure in nearby Dimapur. “One man’s loss is another man’s gain” indeed. While it would be rather impossible to assess the surge in monetary terms, the rows of Nagaland registered vehicles parked on both sides of NH 29 on Sunday would provide a rough estimation of the impact the decree has had.
To refresh public memory, a similar directive bearing religious intent issued by the district administration a few years back, witnessed a similar scenario. That time as well, Lahorijan ended as the gainer while the district administration drew flak for the seemingly impractical diktat. This time, it appears, the denizens of Dimapur have accepted without much ado albeit half-heartedly, while some has taken to social media to air their views.
It may not have affected big businesses and the rich with personal conveyance; it is however the small time traders and the poorer sections of the community, who are the one feeling the brunt. As put by one observer, “Economically, while big traders usually keep the shutters down on Sundays, it is the marginal traders who depend on subsistence level that are suffering the most.”
On the religious premise, the observer remarked, “The religious justification given to the ban is greeted with utmost criticism as the dichotomy between the theory and practice is too glaring.” Referring to liquor outlets fronting as eateries and lottery stalls remaining open despite the standing diktat, it was added, “If they want a ban, it should be applied in toto.”
