By Chitra Ahanthem
Yes, Manipur has of late seen a lot of infrastructure in terms of Government buildings: the swanky and still gleaming complex and building of the Manipur Film Development Corporation, the Maharaj Chandrakriti Auditorium, the new state assembly complex to name just a few. But lest we forget, there was indeed a time when other government infrastructure in the state, were in a similar condition: new and sparkling. Remember the sense of pride when the Khuman Sports Complex and the buildings around it came up? Sadly, over the years, the same buildings that were built with huge financial inputs and announced with such fanfare have fallen into the usual rut of neglect and poor maintenance. If this sounds cynical, I would suggest one take a tour of the Youth Hostel complex at Khuman Lampak or any of the other buildings around the Complex, which are supposed to house athletes or residential participants taking part in competitions or trainings. Another example of a place left to be cleaned up when some state function or event takes place is the Bheigachandra Open Air Theatre (BOAT). When such occasions set in, the complex is decked up like a new bride meant to be shown off with pride but peep in when there is no VIP function or better still, a day or two after any event has taken place and all too familiar sights of trash littering the place greets visitors. If there is one common feature in most Government buildings, or rather two glaring examples of poor maintenance and bad civic sense are smelling rest rooms and walls stained with tobacco spit. It definitely takes two hands to clap and for every wall defaced with tobacco spit and every office or building rest room that raises a stink, we have both the people who uses or rather abuses public property and the irresponsibility of the staff who are supposed to clean up.
And just what is it that makes maintenance of Government buildings in the state difficult even as other states keep a premium on effective maintenance so as to ensure that Government investments are not wasted? I mulled over this all the while during a 7 day stint at the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA), the Administrative Training Institute of the Government of Maharashtra located in Pune. Much before I reached the place, an internet search revealed that the Centre has 105 furnished and air-conditioned rooms. Every room had provisions for a computer node with 24×7 broadband connectivity and cable TV. Looking at the information on the Centre that the internet search threw up for me, I still half expected poor service. But no, when I did check into my room, I found that the bed-sheets, towels and room were all clean. Everyday during the course of an Institute on internet and Society that I was taking part in, a staffer would deliver newspapers and keep a flask of tea outside the door. I am still to decide what impressed me more: the service at the Center; the infrastructure available that included a 60 seater conference hall, a tiered amphitheatre style lecture hall and auditorium, a library, a bank and ATM; the well maintained greenery in the campus or the clockwork precision of the staff who swapped, mopped and cleaned up every speck of dirt they saw around them.
Footnote:
The week long Institute that I was a part of covered topics surrounding and exploring the gamut of internet and society. And so, if one got to hear issues related to technology in terms of what goes into the set up of infrastructure, issues of accessibility et el, one also got to engage with the larger issues of society in terms of freedom of expression and how much of it can be contextualized in terms of internet content or even that the language of technology can be a barrier for people. It was an eye-opener personally when during the course of the various sessions of the Institute, a speaker with visual impairment spoke about how people with disabilities face challenges in terms of technology access and use. Happily though, there was a silver lining though one that I was not aware of and am sure something that most of us are not attuned to: that the efforts of activists and communities working with disabilities have worked tirelessly to ensure that technology does not shut off certain people. When the speaker asked if anyone had any idea why the ‘5’ key on our mobile handsets come with two protruding dots and why our computer/laptop have the ‘F” and ‘J’ keys with horizontal protrusions, none of us had the answer. The reason lay in ensuring that people who cannot see can navigate mobile handsets and computer keys with ease from the location of the said keys. The revelation certainly made me realize how much we take for granted but also how people with disabilities are being empowered through the process of incorporating slight technological inputs. One such initiative certainly is the concept of the talking ATM that works with a voice interface using a plug in headphone that guides users with visual impairment by describing the location of features such as the number keypad, deposit slot, and card slot. And no, the talking ATMs are not something that is alien to the country but have been around in India since 2012 when the first such ATM was installed in Ahmedabad. Do we have one in Manipur yet? I don’t think so, for we are still a long way to go in terms of ensuring that people with disabilities get their due in terms of education, social interaction and opportunities to be able to be independent.