My open letter to the politicians of Manipur
- Part 2 -

Shanta Nahakpam *

Sometimes days would be wasted waiting in front of the officers chamber just to try and convince him of what I wanted to do to be a part of the development of the State and that would break up the stamina of the common man to invest the idea for a better society. Tired from this honesty and chasing of a project which does not have state share I finally decided to open a small cafeteria where I decided to settle down.

The Bund, Blockade, Strike etc started to trouble my little world of juice cafe. No doubt I became a popular person every now and then my cafe would receive sponsor application and I would willingly agree to sponsor in some cases the amount was quite huge but I still did it believing it's a give and take policy as it is in every business.

Again I put forward all my knowledge and earnings to help others on sponsoring their programme etc for a give and take relation that I believe that they would also help me during many of my programme. It was already late and I had invested a lot of sponsorship when I realised during my State LeveL Watermelon Festival when many of them even did not turn up for the good cause of the society.

The issues of Manipur did impact my new venture in a way that I had to look for options to earn from other sources. Even though I was using local fruits and Vegetables to run my cafe bunds and blockade did not impact much on my purchase of products for value addition but the sales were sometimes badly hit. I still remember one time I requested my father to help me pay the salary of my staff since my sales were down and he did advise me to leave such business where you need to ask your father for help in paying the staffs salary. I had a heated agreement even than I did not leave my cafe business.

Today you are campaigning using the tool of Bund and Blockade and we the common man are supporting you in all this campaign. I wonder if we are not laughing at you in our hearts with a face of support to you in all of your campaigns (Irrespective of the party you belong to). Not any time in all of your words that you speak, we have never ever felt that you have the solution to the problem of bund blockade and price rise etc.

You would claim that people come to you extending their support because they believe in you but I would say they rather are helpless and don't have an option. The fact being your words which campaigns that there will be a better Manipur but you do not tell us how to make it better or what role will you play, how do you intend to make it better, how you will create a bund and blockade free Manipur?

That is where the common man feel that you are of no use to us but you seem to talk good with your very dramatic skill that you have learned though all these years at different levels. To the common man we felt and knew it was your duty to handle the price of essential commodities, allocation of fuel and Cooking gas but the civil societies are doing your job which makes us question you what happen to your staff and power at various levels you were suppose to sack inspectors and cancel licences to teach the black marketers a lesson of their life and also cleanse the system with such form of corruption.

I do remember those in power claiming the price rise will be looked into and those not in power issuing statements that you are doing nothing to protect the soaring prices of basic amenities. But it was always the civil societies doing your job.

Due to various situations arising in building up a small scale business I decided to harness various ways so that I can become self dependent I was ready to spend the little savings I had and also use all my contacts that will help me. That was when one of my friends approached me for a civil work construction for Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd.

I was convinced as many of my friends who were unemployed were up to at least some construction work though some department, Ministers or M L A. I also felt that if someone says I am into some construction work, it was a job of respect and everyone would know him, he would have good contacts as well. I thought this may be the jobs you created for the unemployed youth of the state, may be you wanted every person to contribute in the development of the state and that is why you are distributing all these construction work to the people.

When I started working as a small sub contractor I simply put all the efforts all my sources believing this would give me respect, income and status too. Until the company Sterling and Wilson Limited which I worked for started breaching the agreement which we had and delayed many of our payment. Ironically I never stopped working even if I had fund shortage I took loan from various sources which made me a hero for the time being. Some of my unemployed friends also invested their little savings. They had the same dream like me and they believe in me for their future.

Even though the company released our bills many times it was released in half or quarter which made the management of things so tough that my investor started questioning me for the delay in making payment. I responded with the same enthusiasm and zeal like they had when they had given their trusted investment. To repay some of them I had to use other sources which were on loan sometimes at the maximum of 7% which made the situation worse. Today I am still struggling with the debt to pay my friends who trusted me with their little savings.

You must be thinking why I am happy telling my foolishness in open, I would say it is because I learned through this foolishness that apart from my good times when my friends were supporting me and were ready to do anything to complete this project the system in which we were stuck put me in such a situation which became a disaster for my life. I am talking of the system where sub contractors are hired without any regulation, the uncontrolled mode of finance where we had to pay more than 7% and the many letters we wrote which were never addressed by the concerned authority.

For me to explain how much stupidity is in a common man that he chooses to be a part of the earning population and how he decides to become a part of the earning population and what he choose is entirely his decision. You have nothing to do with the decision I make but yes certainly you can make the system function properly so that regulations be made for unorganised money lending can be controlled construction companies which do not have an office in the state should not be given major works as to when they hire sub contractors or land in some trouble they can be punished.

In many of the campaigns (any general election) you usually mention the mismanagement of Funds by the previous Govt on Funds sanctioned for the purpose of development of infrastructure, tourism social security but you do not mention anything on finding out how such mismanagement took place and how to punish people involved in such mismanagement of funds. If any of you have such concrete evidence and information why do you wait for being elected and why have you not filed any FIR to take legal action against such corrupt officials and employees.

The common man would like to see an action taken report if you have such evidence before we elect you to power because we believe you will turn out to be the same human being with different name trying to rule us.

To be continued .....