Union urges state to release funds and rebuild gutted MMC shops
Over a year after a devastating fire reduced the Mokokchung Municipal Council (MMC) Shopping Complex to ashes, traders affected by the incident say they have received no financial relief from the state government. In a memorandum addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Mokokchung, the Readymade Garments Union has reiterated its appeal for urgent intervention, describing the prolonged delay as a “humanitarian crisis.”
The fire, which broke out on February 3, 2024, destroyed properties worth “several lakhs of rupees,” the memorandum states. It particularly impacted retailers and traders dealing in readymade garments. “The fire incident affected the only source of income for the fire victims,” the Union said, adding that they “are yet to recover financially and personally even after a lapse of more than a year.”
Despite submitting a prior appeal to the Chief Minister of Nagaland on August 16, 2024, through “proper channel,” the Union claims the affected families “are yet to receive any response from the State Government till date.”
According to the memorandum, many of the traders had “invested all their resources in their business” and were “left high and dry after the fire incident.” It further noted that these individuals are “going through extreme hardship trying to make ends meet with no hope in sight.”
Citing discussions held with the fire victims, the Union wrote that it had decided to “once again approach the State Government to consider the plight of the fire victims and extend a relief fund at the earliest possible time.” The appeal underlines the urgency of the situation: “We would like to remind the State Government that the problems being faced by the traders/fire victims can be called a humanitarian crisis, as the victims have no one to turn to in order to address and resolve their distress.”
Beyond financial relief, the memorandum also presses for infrastructural reconstruction. “We urge the State Government to urgently rebuild the shops under MMC Shopping Complex Building destroyed by the said fire in order to regain the source of livelihood lost,” it reads. The Union appealed for the “release [of] the building fund to rebuild the shops without anymore delay.”
The letter, signed by the president and secretary of the Khadi Union, ends with an earnest request to the district administration: “The Readymade Garments Union sincerely request your kind authority, as the Deputy Commissioner of Mokokchung, to consider this issue with utmost importance and expedite ways and means to compensate the victims.”
The fire victims, it states, are not merely seeking compensation but justice. “The Union strongly believe that you will do everything in your power to ensure justice and fair treatment,” the letter added.