Through your Newspaper I would like to express my displeasure over the maintenance of the Naga Cemetery in Lake View Colony, Dimapur. Yesterday (February 25, 2006) was the Seventh Death Anniversary of my mother, and I happened to visit her grave to pay my respects as well as to clean up the surroundings. To my utter shock and surprise, my mother’s grave was found to be vandalized. The iron grill that was put around her grave was found to be stolen by sawing off the whole thing. This grill was put up only recently because of financial crunch then. Not only this, whenever flowers, vases and pots are left in the grave, they are found to have disappeared when one visits the grave next time around. Who should be responsible for all these vandalizing and stealing acts in the cemetery? Are there ghosts running around freely vandalizing and stealing these stuffs in the cemetery? Or are there real people doing such things? What is the role of the caretaker/chowkidar who lives just adjacent to the cemetery? Who appoints/pay him/her? If I’m not mistaken, it is the Naga Council Dimapur and the Dimapur Municipal Council who are supposed to be jointly responsible for taking care of the Naga Cemetery. Can I get an answer from them?
Also, the most appalling and despicable thing that I saw in the Naga cemetery was an advertisement hoarding of one “LAXMI MARBLE HOUSE” nailed to a tree inside the left entrance. Who is getting this advertisement revenue – the Naga Council or the DMC? Do we even have to haunt the dead with such ads? Can we not leave the dead in peace?
Bendang Toshi
Dimapur
