Earlier this year, sometime between March and April, when Dimapur, the commercial center of Nagaland was receiving barely 8 hours of electricity a day, the monsoon – or the lack of it – and the depleting water-levels in the reservoirs during the dry seasons were held as a contributing factor responsible for the power crisis then. Several months later, with sufficient rainfall the duration of power supply has improved considerably, though electrical anguish still continues unabated. However to be fair, while increasing rainfall has increased chances for regular power supply, it seems to have caused a predicament of another form for the administration.
Today, the constant shower of rain which has caused landslides is being held responsible for the appalling road conditions in Nagaland. In a region that has ample natural resources for power generation; and one that experiences intense yearly monsoons, it does make one consider, whether ‘natural calamities’ can be asserted as a line of defense.
If indeed after considering the extent and intensity of the natural calamities along Dimapur-Kohima highway, one assess the nature of the damage caused on the roads, it may perhaps be fair to say that it is the quality of road-building that could not withstand the heavy rains and the landslides that are being caused due to soil erosion.
For instance, while a sincere assessment may say that the recent rainfalls in Kohima and Dimapur were not really high velocity storms that were intense or strong enough to cause natural calamities to the extent of almost closing down the national highway, yet the ground realities may need to be put into perspective. In this local context and within the existing state of affairs, because the conditions of the roads are so deplorable and one that is inherently weak in both planning and infrastructure, a few weeks of rain is sufficient to cause the roads to give way, or to be obstructed by landslides, which is now an increasing regular feature because of soil erosion. Perhaps, it is in this context of acknowledging its own limitations, the defense of natural calamities is being sought.
It is a highly contextual and contested argument, which inadvertently exposes the true nature and conditions of the roadway system in Nagaland. The natural calamity defense further reveals the plight of the road conditions in Dimapur. In the case of Dimapur, the argument of landslides no longer stands. But it is true that during the rainy season, a lot of pot holes begin appearing on the main roads, and the top layer toppings of the road begin to crack open to expose its fillings of stone chips. Driving no longer becomes a pleasure; rather it becomes a test of human character and an endurance for vehicles. To contextualize the natural calamity defense with the road conditions of Dimapur, the argument suggests, the process of road building is so poor and faulty that when the sky opens up during the monsoons, pot holes are formed and the toppings begin to disappear. If this is the existing state of affairs in Kohima and Dimapur, than one can only imagine the hardships ‘natural calamity’ is causing in other areas of Nagaland state.
While it is easy to ridicule the position which holds natural calamity as a line of defense, particularly when one has experienced what now constitutes ‘natural calamity;’ it is pertinent to put into context the prevailing conditions. The natural calamity defense suggests that the quality of infrastructures like road is in such dreadful conditions, that even what would otherwise not have been considered a matter of natural calamity has become one. In situations such as this, it is best to avoid any band-aid or ‘quick fix’ method, because it would only compound the problem. The present conditions probably reached this chronic stage, because every successive year the band-aid method was applied. What is required is an honest independent evaluation of the prevailing infrastructural conditions such as road, housing, electricity and health care; and based on the recommendations of the evaluations, serious and genuine steps must be taken to enable Nagaland recover from the brink of infrastructure disaster.
