•- I have a rather unusual story to share the readers, the other day I just landed from Shillong after a long education exile and after a long traffic infested journey. So judging by the endless stretch of yellow moving medals strewn all over the bombarded like streets of Dimapur, I assured myself it will not be of much hassle in getting a cab to Wokha but on reaching the designated counter I could see luggage of varied sizes, colors and shapes in an attempt to make a replica of the great pyramid of gizeh and not to forget the miserable looks of the future passengers which made me wonder if the partition of India happened in the same way.
On enquiring driven solely by curiosity I was informed that there was none wishing to earn normal wages due to the non availability of customers in the return journey. Anyway I decided to try my luck but got bewildered by the unreasonable demand of the car and taxi drivers, Rs. 550 for sumo, Rs. 750 for omni van and the best one came from a bolero which even put to shame, the helicopter service by charging Rs. 1000 per head..... this nearly convinced me to buy myself a car on loan but sadly none of the showrooms were open in the early hours. However with very little option I was almost on the verge of giving myself to these extorting demands but luckily I got a life saving call from a friend offering me a lift, to which I gleefully embraced it and just when I thought all the day's misery were left behind, I got into a bigger surprise when the impact of the shaking car woke me up from my recovery nap. The culprit happened to be a crater believed to have caused by a volcanic eruption some weeks ago right in the middle of NH 150 and it had its nearest cousins spread all over the remaining stretch of the highway to which I attributed the made in Nagaland craters. Nonetheless thanks to the bumps and shakes, it made me feel so much at home.
My point here is that I wish that this little bitter experience of mine be made known to the concerned authorities and All Nagaland Taxi Drivers association, so that their timely intervention will definitely save all my friends studying outside, known and unknown from going through the pain of this demanding Christmas migration season. I also want to make a statement to our humble public leaders that we do not print bank notes in colleges or in universities, nor does our parents mint coins in the kitchen. So my one and only desire for this Christmas season is not a Christmas gahori or a cake but an immediate solution to this homecoming crisis. God bless Nagaland and its people.
On enquiring driven solely by curiosity I was informed that there was none wishing to earn normal wages due to the non availability of customers in the return journey. Anyway I decided to try my luck but got bewildered by the unreasonable demand of the car and taxi drivers, Rs. 550 for sumo, Rs. 750 for omni van and the best one came from a bolero which even put to shame, the helicopter service by charging Rs. 1000 per head..... this nearly convinced me to buy myself a car on loan but sadly none of the showrooms were open in the early hours. However with very little option I was almost on the verge of giving myself to these extorting demands but luckily I got a life saving call from a friend offering me a lift, to which I gleefully embraced it and just when I thought all the day's misery were left behind, I got into a bigger surprise when the impact of the shaking car woke me up from my recovery nap. The culprit happened to be a crater believed to have caused by a volcanic eruption some weeks ago right in the middle of NH 150 and it had its nearest cousins spread all over the remaining stretch of the highway to which I attributed the made in Nagaland craters. Nonetheless thanks to the bumps and shakes, it made me feel so much at home.
My point here is that I wish that this little bitter experience of mine be made known to the concerned authorities and All Nagaland Taxi Drivers association, so that their timely intervention will definitely save all my friends studying outside, known and unknown from going through the pain of this demanding Christmas migration season. I also want to make a statement to our humble public leaders that we do not print bank notes in colleges or in universities, nor does our parents mint coins in the kitchen. So my one and only desire for this Christmas season is not a Christmas gahori or a cake but an immediate solution to this homecoming crisis. God bless Nagaland and its people.
Nyanbemo A.T Lotha
President NSUS
President NSUS
