Kohima being the capital of Nagaland where all the Ministers, MLAs, Hon’ble Governor, Bureaucrats, Technocrats, Educationists, Contractors, Businessmen, Common people, Daily wages labourers and even the down trodden people are living together, we all are human being sailing in the same boat and so we should think seriously how far our people live comfortably according to his or her own resources or income and to make our capital town for peaceful coexistence and to live in harmony.
I give my due respect and sincere appreciation to Mr. James Liezietsu Member NCSU bearing registration No- 1141 of Lerie Colony Kohima for his genuine concern and for highlighting the public grievances in the local dailies of 28th November 2012 issue. I sincerely agreed with him and I hope every individual are murmuring at home about the daily wage labourers in Kohima, particularly the non-locals. But there is no authority or controlling officer to look after this aspect.
The Nagas who are doing manual works like earth cutting, stone cutting etc. and their daily wages are ranging from Rs. 300 to Rs. 500 according to their work skills whereas the non-locals who are doing cement concrete works are charging double of the local labourers wages and we are painfully paying their wages. It is high time for the Nagas to learn and practice those works. The local labourers can do better than them if they are really interested. “Target our eyes where there is more income”.
It is a known fact that many individual had experienced when we engage non-local labourers or mistiris to construct our buildings or to do some other works headed by one head mistiri, but they cannot do satisfactorily or according to our expectation. Because in Nagaland, most of the head mistiris are self-style and after coming out from their homes to Nagaland as a mere labourer (Jugali) within two to three years, he recommended himself as a head mistiri because there is no legal authority or agency to certify their workmanship.
The Nagaland Contractors’ & Suppliers’ Union (NCSU) Head Office Kohima held meeting with the Kohima Municipal Council twice in 2010 to streamline and categorise the skill and unskilled labour in Kohima and had submitted a detail list of suggestions like skill, semi-skill, and unskilled labour, loading and unloading charges against different types of vehicles, head load according to distance. Besides, to issue labour license to every labourer to be recommended by a competent Class-I contractor. But till today it is not implemented by the competent authority. Now the question is, who will be the responsible to do this work? Is it not high time for the Nagas to rectify this mess for our better tomorrow?.
I am giving this strong opinion in the local dailies not only for public consumption but to those who are in authority to put things on the right track without further delay.
Imsünok Jamir
Secretary, NCSU, Head Office Kohima.
