Heed the words of Thangmeiband MLA : To make Night Plaza meaningful
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: September 29 2017 -

The BJP led Government needs to take the view point put forth by Congress MLA Kh Joykisan with the seriousness it deserves.

This is not to say that the Government should not go ahead with the planned Night Plaza from October 2, but the inputs or rather critique from the Thangmeiband AC MLA deserves attention.

It is should not be taken as merely an opposition to the works taken up by the Government but serious thought needs to be given to what the MLA has had to say.

Granted the Government must have planned the Night Plaza minutely but it never hurts to take feedbacks and criticisms from all quarters, for ultimately the Night Plaza should serve the interest of the people.

As the MLA representing Thangmeiband Assembly Constituency, Kh Joykisan will certainly have some knowledge about the venue where the Night Plaza is proposed to be held.

As enunciated earlier, the proposed Night Plaza will be held between GM Hall and PWD office along Kanglapat road where NH-2 runs through.

And the area definitely falls within Thangmeiband AC, the kendra which Kh Joykisan is representing in the Assembly.

The important question is, was the MLA taken into confidence before the Government went to the press to announce its plans of holding the Night Plaza ?

If not, this defeats the idea of having representatives of the people.

Any work to be taken up in any AC should obviously be consulted with the local MLA or else the Government would be betraying a mindset, a mindset which says it does not care about the people’s representatives.

In such a scenario, how can the Government expect the co-operation of the people of Thangmeiband AC ?

And if the local people do not co-operate how can a novel venture be a success ?

Nothing wrong with the plan as such, for there is the need to promote night life or night activities in the State, particularly in Imphal.

But the issue here is about the planning.

Here it is also important for all to keep in mind any new venture, such as an attempt to promote night life in the State, will need the co-operation of the people and it is keeping this in mind that Kh Joykisan questioned the likely scenario at the liquor joints which are a plenty in many pockets of Imphal.

More than likely that Imphal will see people high on alcohol coming out to enjoy the Night Plaza.

And judging from the past, not all those high on liquor will know how to celebrate, most often mistaking goondaism for fun.

There can be loud and raucous elements who will not give a thought to the sensibilities of the others.

In such a scenario, far from promoting night life and far from being enjoyable, the Night Plaza can just turn out to be a night high on nuisance value.

The timing is from 7 pm to 10 pm, and here is hoping that the Government has given some thought to the potential traffic chaos it can create, especially in the early part of the evening.

7 pm is usually the time for many to return home and many more to go out marketing for the night’s dinner and one just have to look at the traffic flow in Imphal to understand this.

In short the Government need to seriously look into the inputs of the Thangmeiband AC and see how to avert any inconvenience to the people once the Night Plaza starts.