When the four youth organizations of Majakong, Penli, Lijaba Lijen and Artang wards submitted a representation to the district administration on August 23 last, demanding that the all-important Hospital Road in Mokokchung town be repaired immediately by any means, they were reportedly told that the issue would be deliberated upon in the next DPDB meeting. So the ‘next’ District Planning and Development Board meeting happened almost a month later on September 19. It was expected that a concrete decision would be taken to repair the Hospital Road by the DPDB, not because the four youth organizations had appealed for it but because of the importance of the road and the deplorable condition of it at this time. However, as per reports, the DPDB was not in a position to take ownership of the road and it was decided that it was best to write to an appropriate authority on the matter. It was also reportedly interpreted that maintaining roads was not the responsibility of the district administration. It was also reported to be a case of lack of funds. And it was also learnt later on that the Chairman of the Mokokchung DPDB was not in attendance. As things turned out, it was like the whole universe conspired in order to keep the road debilitated.
It is appreciated that the meeting had the wisdom to at least write to the appropriate authority for repairing the road. However, it is regrettable that the house did not have the will to address the problem head on. When there is no will, there can be plenty of reasons to disown a cause no matter how genuine. It is hoped against hope that there is no political agenda or interest involved here. While it remains to be seen what the response of the four youth organizations and their supporters would be like, it is hoped that all avenues will be explored to ensure that the road is repaired at the earliest. While waiting for the ‘government’ to repair the road, it will be good for one and all if the community once again take it upon themselves to repair the road for the moment one last time. Yes, it is the responsibility of the government to repair and maintain the road. And yes, the people have the right to demand good roads. However, given the circumstances, it is suggested that the community resort to an out-of-the-box idea of protest by repairing the road themselves. Such a protest will send the right message to the government as well as solve the problem for the time being.
However, it is utterly unbelievable if the DPDB actually believes that it is not its responsibility to maintain roads. The same DPDB in the same meeting reportedly proposed to consider a motorsport event as a ‘district event’ but did not have the will to consider the road in question as a ‘district road’. This is not to undermine the motorsport event. In fact, it is hoped that the event would be a huge success. It is only regrettable that the question of repairing the Hospital Road was not pursued in equal earnestness. There must be a lot of constraints – including political ones.