The missing developmental links
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: August 10, 2013 -

Construction of new roads to enhance connectivity in the State, setting up of model schools and colleges to impart quality education in all the districts of the State, or the Central approval for setting up industrial estates in the State, and so on and so forth.

Regardless of the plethora of 'chronic' problems being faced with no apparent solution in sight all these years, people in Manipur have been hearing their elected representatives talking a lot about the development that would take place in the State in the days or years to come.

And the last couple of days have been no different.

People have been told that a sum of Rs 1800 crore is all set to be sanctioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for development of roads and bridges to enhance road connectivity in Manipur.

Development of new roads specially in hill areas of the State under Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is also said to be on the card.

In the field of education too, people have been made to believe that the Government is making earnest efforts towards set up not just own State University but also one Model College each in all the nine districts to uplift the higher education sector in the State.

A little earlier to this, people learnt about the central approval of a project for setting up industrial estates in six out of the nine districts in the State.

Well, all these developmental talks and announcements for taking Manipur to the speedy path of development may sound so promising and create an impression that a whole lot of changes are going to take place in the State.

But there are so many missing developmental links that need to be worked out first or else they would remain forever as barrier to the growth and development of the society.

Yes, constructions of new roads to enhance connectivity, setting up of model schools or colleges to impart quality education and industrial estates for augmenting the economy of the State, etc, are all essential, and they are, in fact, the need of the hour.

But the million dollar question is, can there be any 'real' development in road connectivity, education or in the industrialization process without making any conscious attempt to improve the condition of the existing roads and bridges, infrastructural requirements of the schools and colleges educational institutions or the industrial units?

When the existing roads are no better than mule tracks; when functioning of schools and colleges is crippled from lack of basic infrastructural requirements and staffs or when the existing industrial units are dying from lack of Govt attention, don't the promises of newer development in the realm of road connectivity, education or industrialization sound stupidly ridiculous? For any new and real development to take place, the Government should, first of all, be able to bridge the existing developmental gaps and leave no missing links to haunt back.