Morung Express News Dimapur | March 6 Tamenglong district in Manipur State is known for a number of natural wonders. It is equally known for State sponsored disasters, primarily roads. National highways passing through the district are potentially fatal. For the past few years, even main town roads have become impossible to traverse. “The road became hazardous for people,” said KC Joy (50), a government primary school teacher. Fed up with trying various methods to get the government to do its job, Joy’s friend TP Cornelius (44), a businessperson, and he began a mini revolution in Tamenglong. From mid January 2017, they ventured out every night in a Bolero pick up loaded with sand and stone to fill up potholes. [espro-slider id=255393] Come morning, people would wonder what kind of providence was at work. Slowly word spread about the silent road builders. People began to contribute in cash and kind; then volunteered themselves. A major road repair initiative by the people took form. SET to build The Tamenglong district headquarters is located 147 km west of Manipur’s capital city, Imphal. The district’s condition of development remains perilous with roads, schools, hospitals and life facing the same discrimination that defines the governance of hill areas in the State. Over the years, the main ring road of Tamenglong town became a waterfall during rains and a dust storm ensued in the dry season. Accidents in the middle of town increased. Till last year, an autorichshaw drivers’ union volunteered to fill up some potholes. “We have tried strikes, memorandums and several other methods of agitation to get the government to repair the road but in vain,” informed KC Joy. Hannah Dichongta (38), who had organized the clean up of Tamenglong’s ‘Prayer Mountain’ and assisted in her brother’s shop in the main town, said she was “eating dust all day” and “it was difficult even to walk.” When she started seeing some potholes in town repaired in early February, she started asking around. “At first people thought the government had started repairing the road,” she said. But it was KC Joy and TP Cornelius at work. Soon elders of the town called for a meeting and the Society for Enhancing Tamenglong (SET) was formed; KC Joy was made its chairperson with TP Cornelius the Secretary. Full fledged community work began from February 14, 2017. Dichongta became one of the many people who came in to physically volunteer. “When the road project began, I knew a transformation would occur in our society. I wanted to be part of it,” she noted. Despite being criticized for doing a “man’s job,” she continued to lend a hand, inspiring more women to join. As people saw their fellow residents work, monetary contributions poured in. The women vegetable vendors of the town, for instance, chipped in Rs. 10 each, thereby contributing Rs. 1110 as a collective. Similarly, others contributed. “We started with Rs. 50,000, some boulders, sand, stone chips, firewood, bitumen etc. and a group of volunteers from local churches and colonies,” said KC Joy. Half a kilometer of the road is close to completion through their initiative. Tamenglong Concern Group At first the idea of hiring workers who actually knew how to build a road was discussed, but discarded due to a funding crunch. With the help of citizen experts, the road repair progressed. Initially, the work was slated for night hours but ‘anti social elements’ and lack of street lights made work difficult. “We had to work with the aid of mobile phones, torches or bike and car lights at night,” informed Hannah Dichongta. So the work hours were shifted to daytime—10:00 am to 4:00 pm or till whenever energy permitted. Colonies and churches mobilized youth everyday to volunteer on site. The oldest volunteer was 80 years of age. People from the town contributed refreshments for the workers; others became more conscious of their environment and began to clean up around their shops. Bit by bit, the road healed. Social media took no time to catch up. A Whatsapp as well as Facebook group called ‘Tamenglong Concern Group’ started from New Delhi in 2016 quickly mobilized global support. “We raised awareness on these groups about the work taken up by the SET and Tamenglong residents. Unprecedented support came in from people, including from Chennai, Guwahati, Mumbai, Bangalore, UAE, USA, Canada, etc.,” said Guisuibou Daimei (28) who is pursuing a PhD in Zoology at Delhi University. He set up the Group in 2016 to raise general concerns on Tamenglong’s deteriorating conditions. Within three weeks, the project had raised Rs. 3 Lakh in cash; till now Rs. 5 Lakh has been raised. Then there was contribution of material like pick-up trucks, sand, boulders, firewood etc. Work itself was done without any specialized equipment, often needing quick local inventions; for instance, with the unavailability of road rollers, volunteers had to resort to using a manual soil leveling tool to flatten the black topped surface! “Our plan is to begin with half a kilometer and extend it if and when possible depending on the contributions we get,” acknowledged KC Joy—the black topping of the entire road is estimated at Rs. 20 Lakh, and no government funding has been forthcoming to date (also due to the election code of conduct). The road ahead Failure of governance is a hallmark of states in the North East, and Manipur is the jewel in this crown. An undocumented number of villages of Tamenglong district remain unconnected by roads to date. Political representatives do not bother with the living condition of their electorate. Excessive securitization and conflict defines governance here instead of human rights. “No government agencies have given any kind of remark or acknowledgement on the initiative. The concerned government authorities such as the district administration, the Public Work Department or the Town Committee under ADC, have shown no sign of interest, nor any sense of responsibility whatsoever,” said indigenous rights’ activist Atina Pamei (45) who has been coordinating outreach efforts for the community. People have no option but to look out for themselves. Inspired by the SET initiative, another youth organization has taken up the initiative to construct the Tamei-Tening road that connects Tamenglong district with Peren district in Nagaland. “Roads are essential for human development and Tamenglong lags behind due to the lack of connectively,” said Ramkung Pamei (39), Chief Editor of local language newspaper, The Cham. Frequent economic blockades followed by counter blockades mean people in Manipur, particularly in the hills where food and fuel cannot be flown in and out, are left to themselves to create survival options. The SET considers this as a form of positive protest against the government’s failure to deliver their duties. But this is hardly sustainable. Thus, “We are thinking of forming an association that will work as a watchdog over government works given to contractors so that these are properly implemented,” said KC Joy of their thoughts on taking the movement further, though nothing has been concretized yet. Meanwhile, the Tamenglong road project has not just opened up new hopes, it has also opened up new dimensions of thought for the town. “On an average, 20 people would come out to work every day. Even more women came out to work eventually,” said Hannah Dichongta, who had been away from her home for 15 years. The road project got her, and many like her, to forge new friendships every day while breaking stereotypes. From being reprimanded for ignoring cooking activities at home, she went on to become one of the “most active” women volunteers for the road project, as an SET leader said while giving us her contact details. “I thank the people who began this project,” maintained Dichongta. “Our local political representatives should realize that good roads not only ensure our rights as human beings but also help build our economy. Why wait for problems to pile up before doing your duty towards the constituency? This project is a big lesson for everyone who feels they belong to a place, however big or small. We can all help improve it in the smallest of ways possible.” Let us hope that voices of people like her from Tamenglong who are increasingly taking up the burden of development echo off the hills and find ears in the State’s powerhouse in Imphal at least, if not New Delhi, with whom the onus of development lies.
