By Khura Seraton
Disputes over boundaries are not new. It has been part of human history and it will linger as long as we, as human strangely, keep on defining our sense of ownership and belonging based on imaginary lines or artificial fences. Many a war has been fought over it. Many a life has been cut short all because of the line. Needless to say people get divided on boundary line. Yet the same boundary can also bring people together.
It has been a whole new experience for thirty year-old Esini Pudunamei, a flower grower from Mao. She has been growing flowers since very young. She is one among many, who have shifted their trading location following the boundary dispute between Manipur and Nagaland at Dzuko area. Indeed a long-drawn dispute between the two states with grim prospect of a solution in the immediate future. Earlier Esini and her fellow traders used to take their goods to Nagaland at Kohima some thirty kms from Mao. There, Nagaland traders buy their goods wholesale. No bargaining, just a quick exchange of money and goods. Having shifted to Imphal, Esini struggles to communicate with her new found customers. She speaks very little Meiteilon. This is her very first time to trade in Imphal since July this year. And this is also her first time to mingle with the valley dwellers `“ Meiteis. A smile is all the answer Esini gives when asked about her new trading journey.
L Ashipro, Mao Trade Union President, who is also a school teacher takes out time to accompany the vendors, all of them woman, making sure that everything goes smoothly. Unlike the woman vendors, language is not a barrier as she has been frequenting Imphal and Mao in equal terms. Wiping away the sweat from her face, which has turned almost cherry-red because of the humid air, Ashipro laments the abject lack of toilet facilities that too in the heart of the capital Imphal. Imagine how difficult it is for the women, who wake up early before dawn to travel the three and a half hour journey to reach Imphal. Replying `kunthra-kunthra ni` to the customers`™ query over the price of the spring onion bunches; Ashipro added `we are hopeful that the government will allot a temporary shelter soon otherwise it is very difficult for the vendors to move from one place to another`. Our woman are learning fast the art of retail vending, the zest of conversing in Meiteilon with the customers, it is indeed an experience for them, she said.
There are around four hundred vendors registered under the Mao Trade Union. On a rotational basis, ninety to ninety five vendors come to Imphal twice/thrice a week. `We have started providing identification card for our vendors. This will give them a sort of security in Imphal. Besides, on the way to Imphal, we have to pay taxes to different groups, which is demoralising. But today, they have not stopped us. May be there has been some interventions`, said Ashimpro. She observed that there is no lack of customers for vegetables and fruits. Potato and chilly are in high demand as always. The prices are more or less same with other vegetables, which have come from outside the state, or even slightly higher. But customers look for taste and the organic tag, which they believed, are found in Mao produce.
Dr Lolee, President of Mao Union, briefly recalled how it all happened. The southern Angami people of Nagaland started paving road leading to the Dzuko Valley. They started constructing rest houses on Manipur`™s side of the border. On top of that truckloads of humic soil deposits have been quarried and transported to Nagaland to be sold with huge profits. All apparently taken out under the patronage of the Nagaland government, armed guards in civvies were deployed in the dispute area. The people of Mao under the leadership of their civil organisations protested against the move of the south Angami people. `Our traders suffered because of our claim of what rightfully belong to the people of Manipur. It is good that the government of Manipur has intervened and now the constructions and other activities by the Nagaland government are on hold`, said Dr Lolee. Expressing surprise over the warm response of the people of Imphal, he candidly admits that earlier they were doubtful of shifting their trade in Imphal. Dr Lolee is thankful to the Imphal-based civil voluntary organisations for their immense support and cooperation. `Even if things got better between the two state governments regarding the boundary, our people will be happy to vend in Imphal`, Dr Lolee asserted with a sunny smile.