Aheli Moitra
In the past four decades alone, Dimapur town has grown from a flora jungle into a concrete one. Elders who lived in Dimapur during the 1960s, 70s, or even as late as the 80s, remember a predominantly jungle filled city. Duncan Bosti, even the current Dimapur Government College site, was an area of lush greens. Some of the spaces that were under the control of men were the sugarcane plantations lining the highway from Purana Bazar all through to Chumukedima—today the sugar mill has closed down and concrete infrastructure has cropped up in place of sugarcane. Nyamo Lotha Road (then Church Road) and areas around the Railway station were the rare centres of urban vigour.
Most of Dimapur has been constructed by migrant labour. Since there is no governance involved in the planning of the urbanscape in Nagaland State, one can say that urban areas of Nagaland were built by anonymous people whose work has neither been recognised nor basic rights guaranteed to them.
Chief Minister of Nagaland State TR Zeliang has pointed out repeatedly, over the past one year, the vital gap in the progress of the State—lack of local construction workers to build Nagaland. Being predominantly rural, while Nagaland has a good crop of cultivators, the opposite is true for the growing urban sector.
When the idea of constructing a modern structure, particularly of public importance, is conceived, it is first planned (and sponsored) by the State, dedicated by the Church, implemented by Contractors and built by Workers. Naga people have taken control of the first three rungs involved in infrastructure creation but a work force remains missing. This is not least because the first three rungs have promoted a ‘dependency model’ of growth and prosperity among the general populace.
The trend, however, has been undergoing change in some measure, particularly in Mokokchung. Here, young people have learnt how to build modern infrastructure—from laying bricks to the dynamics of rock-concrete-cement. Instead of opting for easy money and its luxuries from politico-bureaucratic ancestors, they have taken the harder route to reversing the damage created by poor leadership.
Some people have expressed apprehension that Naga people becoming workers would mean the hiking of work rates leading to a corresponding rise in property prices. But property prices in Nagaland already remain high, particularly in Dimapur where unscrupulous quarters have created traps, hiking up rates with no corresponding rights to workers or infrastructure development.
Demanding fair wages for fair work, fair rates for good infrastructure, is a step in the right direction. Organising and expanding the sector will develop a sense of camaraderie among workers, local or migrant, thereby bringing a culture of sharing knowledge and rights for all (does it really satiate our soul to live in buildings constructed by underpaid migrant women with no protective gear or childcare facilities?). It will bring with it worker ethics and networks that will help the whole society re-dedicate itself to the democratic construction of the Naga nation. That should be a price we are all willing to pay.
If you are a worker, feel free to share insights on moitramail@yahoo.com
