Morung Express News
Dimapur | June 4
The spirit to endure, despite the odds, deserves applause of the highest order. Change the context shifting to a different situation; say for instance – transport unions collecting tax. The determination of the unions to continue with this preferred form of making a living even with the risks involved is truly not commendable. And aided in part by a big talking government with no counteractive action, it surely is flourishing.
The Home Minister in a recent declaration had stated that the government will come down hard on illegal collection by trade unions. It indeed had an effect with the district administrative machinery in Dimapur carrying out an ‘anti-illegal collection’ exercise early on Monday morning, June 4. The unions were directed to remove their respective collection booths immediately, sign boards were torn down; while monetary collection was ordered stop. Even the DMC toll gate was not spared. Nobody was detained. Only office stationery found at the collection booths were confiscated. New Field Check-post, Burma Camp, Walford, Dillai check-post and Super Market were the places raided.
Making a mockery of the exercise, most of the collection booths manned by the ‘trade activists’ in the aforementioned places were found abandoned bereft of the usual ‘collectors’. News of an imminent raid by the authorities had spread, apparently. A policeman at Dillai check-post said that the collectors abandoned the booths by the time the raid took place. The cop said that they removed furniture left behind by the fleeing collectors.
“But chairs do not collect money, the people do,” quipped the policeman in ‘Nagamese’ hinting at a return of the same people to the same locations when things subside. Some of the union workers had left their posts the previous night itself.
“They were given strict notice to close down till further notice from the government,” was what the district administration said. It only waits to be seen how strong the Home Minister’s will was and how effective was today’s clean-up exercise. For it is not the first time the government has carried out such an exercise. One thing is for sure though – the Secretariat in Kohima will definitely be inundated with petitions from the unions pleading their cases. In Burma Camp alone, around nine transport unions (registered as well the unregistered) had set up posts on both sides of the DMC toll gate extorting money from commercial carriers round the clock.
