It is raining potholes in Nagaland. Nagaland is home to horrible bad roads be it the cities, towns or the villages. It’s a fact and nobody can deny it. However I write this article focusing on the deplorable road condition in and around Kohima and Dimapur town.
Many roads in the heart of Dimapur and Kohima town are so bad that driving is a constant tension. There is no peace of mind while driving; you constantly have to be on the lookout for potholes and manoeuvre your vehicle dogging the potholes. A lot of unnecessary and avoidable psychological tension is accumulate and processed by the driver and passengers alike due to this bad road condition. Not only the psychological side of it, look at the physical side – health complications such as spinal problems, joint pains etc bad roads contribute to its escalation.
Now coming to the road safety issue, road safety is being hugely compromised owning to its bad condition. Accidents on the roads we see every day, how many do you think are caused by the bad condition of roads? I am sure there will be many. It is the duty of the Government to provide the best and safest roads for its people; this is one major area where the government has failed miserably.
Roads indirectly contribute to the economic growth of the state and since Nagaland is a developing economy, there is constant demand of good quality roads. Are the deplorable road conditions of Nagaland affecting our economy/ economic development? If a survey or research is conducted, I am sure the answer would be "yes". Put aside the economic growth of Nagaland, the household economy of every individual that owns a car is being affected - the frequent and untimely wear and tear of vehicular suspensions, alignment, mechanical parts, tyres etc , all of which cost a sizable financial investment; a direct effect of our deplorable road condition.
Pollution is another issue that needs to be addressed. Bad dusty roads contribute immensely to dust pollution during the dry season and flooded water filled potholes during the rainy season immensely escalates the risk of accidents. Pedestrians, drivers, passengers and people living/ working close to the roads are constantly being exposed to dust pollution escalating the risk of respiratory diseases and problems.
Who is to blame for our psychological tensions, accidents, economic and health problems owning to bad roads? The government needs to intervene now; it is the duty of the government to maintain a basic standard of road condition for its state. People are tired of complaining numerous times when the government turns a deaf ear and a blind eye. It is now in desperation for the welfare of society that individual colonies have started collection money per household to repair and maintain its colony roads and drains. People are willing to work for the welfare of the society and the government should also do its part. I strongly fell that the government needs to repair and maintain the few kilometre of roads in an around Dimapur and Kohima, as this two city/ town are the highlight city/ town of Nagaland and it is in Dimapur and Kohima where the traffic is maximum. So, can the government cooperate with the public, do its job and provide relatively minimal road annoyances, safe roads, decrease road pollution and help in the economic development of Nagaland.
Neisakholie Ziephru (Information and Publicity Secretary, APO)
