The farther you go away from Mokokchung, the easier your life becomes – and more fulfilling. Or so it seems. It has now become cliché to even talk about how even the basic amenities like good roads, educational institutions, healthcare services, uninterrupted power supply and adequate water supply are lacking in Mokokchung. If there is any new development or improvement in these areas, it is at a crawling pace. When such basic amenities are dismally lacking, it is farfetched to think about a quality of life at par with others. Other areas like business and entrepreneurship, sports and entertainment, trade and commerce, tourism, and all other relevant industries are affected. This in turn results in low quality of life. The pursuit of happiness, even for the most enterprising and hardworking people, becomes a tedious affair. This gives rise to depression, frustration, and mental health issues among the population. Sedentary lifestyle becomes normalized. Rising unemployment, alcoholism and substance abuse, corruption and acceptance of unethical and illegitimate means of livelihood are by-products of the kind of environment we have in Mokokchung today. Not much good can be expected to prevail in such a toxic environment where life is suffocating and nauseating. It is then no wonder that most people with the resources and ability are leaving Mokokchung for good. As more and more such people leave Mokokchung, coupled with the kind of (mig)governance we have in place, the prevailing conditions are left without much scope for improvement and the cycle continues.
It is in such a scenario that this newspaper is working or, rather, struggling to work. There are very few readers in the community and even fewer writers. It is not easy to fill the pages with relevant content day in and day out. In a place like Mokokchung, even the access to information is like a rare commodity. All the major developments related to governance, politics, economics and almost every other important issue happens in places like Kohima and Dimapur which is quite understandable. However, accessing information on the latest developments that are of public importance is where the problem lies. To gain more access to such information, we need more ‘channels’ and it is very difficult to establish those ‘channels’ when you are a start-up and lack resources.
Like most other things, running a media house is much easier if you move farther away from Mokokchung. Access to information and also the resources needed to sustain that access is more readily available when you move farther away from Mokokchung and head towards Kohima or Dimapur. Just like the lack of basic amenities stifle the quality of life, the lack of access to information and the resources needed to build that access stifles our journalism too. This in turn has a negative impact on the overall performance of the newspaper thereby making it difficult to fill the void left by Kohima and Dimapur centric newspapers.
Despite the doom and gloom, there is also the bright side to Mokokchung. We know there are few concerned citizens who despite with the resources and ability to leave Mokokchung for good are staying put; entrepreneurs who has the capacity to leave Mokokchung and invest elsewhere where the grass is greener but chose to remain in Mokokchung; hardworking citizens earning their livelihood by the sweat of their brow in this little town they proudly call home. They are the ones that inspire this newspaper to persevere against all odds.
