Leader Writer : Sukham Nanda
The State government is initiating interim arrangement by fixing wholesale prices of essential commodities and launched mobile sales of essential commodities in order to ease the difficulties facing by the common people due to the shortages of essential commodities and subsequent rise of prices of different essential commodities caused by the economic blockade and counter blockade imposed along the two existing highways of the Sadar Hills Districhood Demand Committee and United Naga Councils respectively since more than last one month.
Its good that something has initiated by the concerned Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution departments of the state to facilitate blockade woes felt by the common people even though the effort might not reach to the level of satisfactory of the common public of the state.
On the other hand it if of the general comments that, the recent prices of wholesale rate that have been fixed during the joint meeting chaired by the state CAF & PD minister N Biren attended by DC Imphal West, director CAF & PD and representatives of the Bazaar Business Communities seems lack of convincing attitudes from the state government side and lack of sacrificing spirits from the businessmen as the newly fixed whole sale prices of essential commodities are still more than triple the prices sold before the blockade.
As everybody have aware of the fact that who is taking advantages of what is going on in the state, and the introduction of mechanism by the state government to regulate the free fixation of prices of essential commodities by the businessmen at this juncture of the state are acceptable by the common public to some extend.
In the meantime, might be in good sense, state CAF & PD have purchased some of the essential items of Potatoes, Pea beans (Mangal), Masoor dal and Mairongbi (Arhar Dal) from Silchar by spending Rs.93 Lakhs and started selling the items through opening mobile shops with the provided rates of Rs.15 per Kg of Potato, Mangal at Rs.35/Kg, Mussori at Rs.51/Kg and Mairongbi at Rs56/Kg at different market places of greater Imphal areas since September 29 with and objective to provide need of common people at the lower prices. But unfortunately, emergence of selling these essential items in some of the major whole sales at Khwairamband bazar at the price which are quite less than the government provided prices have turn the efforts of the CAF & PD to the motive of profit makings by the common people.
On the other hand, CAF & PD seems failed to consider that, it is not the people leaving in the greater Imphal areas were directly impacted by the prolonged economic blockade, but it is the common public in far flung rural areas who have directly depend their essential items from the Imphal Bazar areas and who have been facing serious hardship of purchasing the essential items from Imphal at these present price rate. In this regard it is of the public opinion that, the concept of the state government making Manipur by making Imphal developed must be stopped and it is the time for the state to adopt the rationalisation policies and priorities should be kept for people who are in needed and people of remote areas.
Fixation of prices of essential commodities launching mobile sales in the greater Imphal areas by the concerned government are not the end solution to the existing economic blockade. Besides, who so ever responsible in blocking the two national highways which is the only life line of the people of the state needs to lifted because no one among the responsible in this blockade can tell that these economic blockade will bear solutions to their demands.
Longer the blockade longer the suffers of peoples in both hills and valley these is the things which every people of both hills and plain have been facing now. Though there might be genuinity on their claims and counter claim demands of Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee and United Naga Council, the solutions will surely lies through joint negotiating tables with the state government no community in the state is superior from any community every one is equal this is democratic state and let us maintain secularism.les with the state government no community in the state is superior from any community every one is equal this is democratic state and let us maintain secularism.