In the first week of June, 2010 the Morung Express did a story on Nagaland’s crumbling public infrastructure. One of the conclusions that can be inferred from this particular report was how the government has been unable to maintain its own assets such as buildings, bridges, roads etc. all built at huge cost. For instance, the Dikhu Bridge on NH 155, which is a vital link to the eastern corner of Nagaland, was on the verge of collapse as the condition of the bridge had been deteriorating for the past few years and without attention of the concerned department. “A stitch in time” could have saved us from going through unnecessary troubles. It could have saved money, time and all the inconveniences. A similar situation has now developed over the condition of the foot bridge at Plaza junction in the commercial hub of Dimapur. Despite drawing attention of the concerned authorities over the deterioration taking place in some portions of the foot bridge, nothing seems to have been done. So even after this newspaper had highlighted on this through two front page report, there is no visible sign of improvement taking place. This is a clear case of government apathy. The foot bridge near the plaza intersection in Dimapur calls for serious attention of concerned authorities. Since the time between the two news report, the cracks in the ‘checkered steel plates’ are becoming bigger. More cracks have appeared and the vehicles running below clearly visible through the gaps as was highlighted in the Morung Express which was accompanied by photographs showing the extent of the damage. To our knowledge, since no initiative has come from the concerned department, the Dimapur Municipal Council should step in and take stock of the situation. Public safety has to be ensured. If we do not act now, the damage will become costly. Let us not wait for a disaster to take place.
In fact, the case of Dikhu bridge and the foot bridge at Dimapur highlighted above are just two examples of a larger problem i.e. government apathy towards public service. State infrastructure in Nagaland is indeed in shambles. This picture looks even more dismal as you go in to the rural areas. Despite claims of money pouring in and big development projects on paper, it is a fact that we are still surviving with pre-British infrastructure. School buildings, government quarters and offices built in the 60’s have seen only minor repairs, or none at all, till date. Some buildings are now beyond repair. The government has not replaced electricity poles in almost 40 years despite repeated appeals by the department. It becomes clear for any sensible thinking person to conclude that public property is nobody’s so why bother spending huge sums of money in taking care of it. While we eloquently speak of quality control in our public works programme, this has been a dismal failure in reality. Unless we see a overhauling of our present system, the quality of our public asset and services will continue to remain below par. And as seen in the unresponsive nature of the government, even something as endangering public safety does not merit due attention. The government may just as well pretend that the problem does not exist. Why care?
