Potholes are very interesting structures. But they cannot exist independently. In other words they cannot be sovereign. If you examine each of them separately, you will observe that each of them is unique in shape and size, and very interesting to the inquisitive and receptive mind. They hold water after the shower and cool down the temperature especially in Dimapur. They increase travel time and thus prevent accidents which could take place due to speed. People get to look around and absorb in the world around for the same slowing down effect. It facilitates increase in transaction and boost the economy of the state as a whole with injection of higher fuel consumption and higher maintenance cost. One could go on and on but let’s shift gear.
Why do we commit atrocities upon our contractors, engineers, bureaucrats and political leaders just because of good old potholes. They are a part of our lives. Why do we go and fish in the troubled potholes and waste our time. The Naga blog is bad influence. Our contractors, engineers, bureaucrats and politician are all busy people. They have their own personal problems. They have to build their own houses. They have to mobilise resources to buy personal vehicles. They have to lobby, negotiate, work out shares and commissions, the whole hog. They have to play rummy or paploo in the evening with their peers. Then, again attendance in social and official functions are very important and they take place every so often. Of course there are the official tours that is more mandatory then carrying out their daily respective responsibilities which are most about potholes. They have to attend office once in a while. And off course our dear National workers have to be looked after with “adjustments” from the actual working fund. The quantum of adjustments determines the shape, depth and size of the potholes. And without taking into consideration all these hard facts and strong compulsions, we heap atrocities upon them. They must be hurt by the insensitiveness of it all.
So why can we not just let the potholes be. Or pick up few pieces of stones and maybe handful of sand from our homes and feel up the potholes in degrees every time on our way to wherever we are going. One stone and grain of sands from each of us to make the pleasant road. Or more substantially, contribute sand, stones, labour if not bitumen from our own pockets to mend the potholes because fishing there is not going to work. Because the Government does not have provision for maintenance of our roads. If there was, provisions we mean, the potholes would not have been there and if there was, because of the “adjustments”, the potholes have to stay anyway.
Well, it is very much in the air that a settlement to the Indo-Naga issue is about to take place. That reminds us of potholes. After fifteen years of cease-fire the potholes on the road to the settlement are strewn all over the Naga highway. The loyal nationalists who were to maintain the Naga road and take care of the potholes, either because of lack of know how or other considerations, wittingly or otherwise have made the potholes so deep and large that it is now difficult to see where the road really is. Often times the National workers have not taken the trodden Naga highway but created many shortcuts which cuts across the highway and back again over and over again, sometimes running parallel to the Naga highway. Lets hope the 60 legislators will find their way onwards and back through the labyrinth and the potholes.
No offence intended and none should be taken. But it is the potholes that stares us up in the face from down there with bewilderment and asking “ Why are you messing with me ? “
Thank you potholes for the audience. Kuknalim !
Dr B. Angami,
Kuda Village
langami@rediffmail.com
