A few days ago the Morung Express did a report ‘Welcome to the Land of Potholes’ focusing on the debilitating state of our roads especially in the commercial hub of Dimapur. Not that we should blame the rains but ever since the monsoon set in, the roads have begun to erode in almost every part of the city. As mentioned in the news report, “humongous potholes, river bedded roads and flooded streets have become a landmark”, a welcoming sign perhaps to the ‘Land of Festivals’ or better still make it ‘Land of Potholes’. Whether we get more funds or not, our priority should henceforth be about quality control and not simply laying some kind of cosmetics, which will last for a few weeks or months. The concern Minister in-charge of Roads & Bridges made a ambiguous remark about the present road condition in the State by pointing out that ours is a difficult terrain and the roads here (“in alluvial soil”) worsen during the rainy season because of all these factors. He also goes to say that the life of the newly constructed road is also much shorter in Nagaland, which indeed is a fact. The point is should we only blame the weather, terrain or soil for our bad roads? Heavy rains and landslide are not to be unexpected in a hilly state like Nagaland. So shouldn’t our roads, bridges and other infrastructure be build accordingly—to withstand the test of nature and geography. The big question is who is to be blamed for all this? Is it nature? Could it be poor quality construction? Or could it be faulty engineering? The answer may probably lie in all of them. But to solely put the blame on nature would be misleading and wrong.
Coming to the roads in say Dimapur or Kohima, the concern department could perhaps experiment with a different approach in awarding contracts for repairing or making new roads in our two urban centres. Firstly, from the time of calling for quotation to awarding the contract to implementation of work till completion there has to be hundred percent transparency. Information about road projects once made public will allow for scrutiny and public participation as well. People should also be vigilant and collectively demand proper implementation. Secondly, right at the start, there has to be a strict guideline framed and this must be adhered to by all parties. In fact many of the government projects are done without following the laid down specifications. Road construction in fact is very scientific and technical and this can be done only by qualified engineers and professionals. However in Nagaland it appears to be that anyone can build a road as long as they can get the contract. Some of our Ministers and VIPs directly or indirectly are also very much engaged in such contracts. This has to stop if we want to build proper and real roads. Thirdly, for repairing the present roads in Dimapur or Kohima, perhaps the department should award a single contract to a competent, professional and well reputed firm. This way cost could come down, uniform quality maintained and responsibility can be fixed. This may ensure better service and output. The other thing we have to correct is doing away with the corrupt system—of paying kickbacks and commissions whether to our politicians and national workers or exorbitant profit for the contractors. The result is that quality suffers a great deal. This is the crux of the problem.
