DIMAPUR, JULY 30 (MExN): The Dimapur Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) has expressed shock and outrage on the transfer Anoop Khinchi, IAS, as the Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur. It urged the State Government to hold the order till such time Dimapur returns to normalcy from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A press release from the DCCI President, Akashe K Zhimomi questioned the logic behind the abrupt transfer of the DC at a time when the State Government and all sections of society are all out engaged in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, relegating all other activities and issues to the background.
It asked what is the motive of the government in transferring the head of the district “at a time when Dimapur is gripped with worst fears of the disease reaching geometrical proportion.”
“Since the beginning of the pandemic alert in Dimapur the incumbent DC as head of DTF has had several coordination meetings with tribal hohos, civil societies, NGOs, student bodies and discussed strategies and measures on how to collectively tackle the pandemic. In the past couple of months, he worked almost 24x7, right from monitoring the relief measures, reception of the returnees, visiting all quarantine centres etc. The incumbent DC is now well versed with the ground reality,” the DCCI stated.
While clarifying that it is not against a new DC, the DCCI however claimed that“at this point when Dimapur is in the middle of a deep crisis, a change of guard would prove suicidal and disastrous.”
“A new DC has to start all over again: meeting and getting acquainted with different tribal hohos, civil societies and other stakeholders and reviewing the strategies and logistics. At the present juncture, Dimapur and its citizens cannot afford to lose precious time adjusting to bureaucratic reshuffles when lives are at stake,” the DCCI stated.
It further alleged that the“transfer notification also smacks of vested interests and highlights the step-motherly treatment of the state government to the citizens of Dimapur.”The DCCI questioned why the DC is being transferred when he has not completed even 9 months in office.“Was it not a step- motherly treatment of Dimapurians when some nine months back the government transferred both the Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of Police of the district on the same day,” the DCCI asked.
It said that such “whimsical transfer of government officials without taking into confidence the people of the district should not be the norm.”
