The demand for the state government to come up with a definite plan of action on the Dzuko valley encroachment issue, and to implement them at the earliest has been intensifying with each passing day, with various social organizations announcing their decisions to take up drastic steps including, but not limited to, economic blockade on the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway, social boycott of the state government, protest rallies, bandhs etc. Such demands and social agitations, incidentally are nothing new to the people of this state. The state have witnessed more than its fair share of unrests and protests. It must be said, considering the unrelenting pressures and political upheavals being faced by the state government day in and day out without any sign of let up, that the staying power of the present government have been enhanced, and if public opinions are to be taken into consideration, that the Ibobi-led government have elevated the practice of sidelining every critical issues and making it seem trivial, to an art form. The intense public unrest and social agitations erupted during the border fencing row with neighboring Myanmar have petered out with time, without any definite accomplishment or remarkable reformation to show for it. There is a strong possibility, in spite of our hopes or expectations for a positive change, that the present public simmering of discontent will meet with the same inconclusive fate. In fact, the statement by the Deputy CM alleging the United Naga Council (UNC) and Naga Peoples’ Front (NPF) of shying away from the issue of incursion by certain social organizations based in Nagaland and the constructions of infrastructures such as roads inside Manipur’s territory as against their claim of protecting the interests of the naga people, is a classic example of passing on the buck and can be perceived as the initial step in the well-drilled and much-proven political maneuver aimed at getting the issues tangled up and fizzle out with time.
The common public has almost reached the breaking point, with the spiraling rise in prices of goods and the spurt in allegations of excesses by the security forces adding to the feeling of helplessness and further decay in social order. It is high time the state government take up concrete steps to allay the fears of the public. Discussions and deliberations with the centre and neighboring states is all very well, but there must also be an earnest effort on the part of the state government to take up necessary measures to make the Dzuko valley easily accessible to the people of the state so that it no longer remain an elusive destination for many in the state due to its inaccessible and torturous approach at present. Creating basic infrastructures including shorter and alternate routes, resting points and proper camping sites and waste disposal arrangements will greatly entice the nature lovers of this state to enjoy the much spoken pristine beauty and help in preserving its identity and territory.
