DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 18 (MExN): The Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC) has strongly condemned the launching program organized by M/S JK Construction and M/S Chabou & Co for the Baghty Division construction of the Foothills Road, scheduled for February 21. The committee, through a press release, criticized the event for proceeding without a signed agreement with them, despite repeated requests from the apex tribal hohos and the committee.
The NFHRCC stated that the invitation extended to the committee for the launching programme is a serious insult, undermining the “honour, majesty and dignity” of both the apex tribal hohos and the committee. It further expressed that this action clearly demonstrates the intention of the firms to “silence and suppress the voices of the hohos and the Naga public.”
In response to this, the committee has called for an emergency meeting with the apex tribal organizations and Dimapur-based tribal hohos on February 20 at 5:00 pm at NFHRCC Base Office, Kher Mahal, Dimapur to “safeguard the Naga public from the clutches of benefactors.” The committee has urged all concerned parties to attend the meeting, despite their busy schedules, emphasizing that “it is high time for the Nagas to decide whether we will be crushed under the hands of a few benefactors or whether we will develop our land with justice and transparency.”
The NFHRCC also reminded that on February 7, the Minister for Public Works Department (R&B) had invited all 12 tribal hohos to a joint consultative meeting in Kohima, where it was agreed that within a few days, the department would convene a joint meeting with the committee and contractors to find an amicable solution. However, the NFHRCC stated that, despite the committee's requests, the proposed meeting has not yet been held for reasons unknown to them.
