TIPAIMUKH REVISITED

TIPAIMUKH REVISITED

                                                                    Lal Dena

           

            Tipaimukh which once produced consul generals, ambassadors, internationally renowned missionary, dozens of central service officers, doctors (medical and academic), not to mention the state service cadres, has become perhaps the most backward area of the state today. What I saw there recently with my own eyes is really appalling and at times nauseating.

            There are at least twelve different government departments, namely, medical, electric, P.W.D., agriculture, water-supply, soil conservation and horticulture, education, forest, sub-post office, police, bank, social welfare and veterinary at Parbung, the sub-divisional headquarters of Tipaimukh. Believe it or not, none of the employees of these departments except the dilapidated and unoccupied buildings can be seen today.

The sub-divisional officer, and his staff members who are supposed to be there, have been operating at their make-shift office at Churachandpur town for the last many years. The S.D.O. quarter was deserted ten years ago. His office just the opposite of his quarter is something like the white-washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Once you get inside, you will see tables, wooden- shelves and chairs lying like unwanted corpses with files and papers scattering here and there. More disgusting is the smell of cows’ and goats’ urine and strewn cow-dung all over the floor of the office.

           

            Another impressive structure at least from a distance is the inspection bungalow. As you enter the rooms, you will see the broken and falling wooden walls. Day time you can see the blue sky or count the stars at night through the holes of the roof. I was told another construction was to come up nearby for which sanction was already made. Where did the money go, it is everybody’s guess.

            Once upon a time, there was a police station headed by a sub-inspector. Today only the empty buildings and quarters can be seen. The sub-post office is no longer functioning. The UBI branch was also withdrawn long ago, maybe because of security reasons. This is of course understandable. Compare to Manipur, Mizoram has much less resources. But all the villages in Mizoram just the opposite of Tipaimukh have electric lights, whereas the Tipaimukh area is still groaning amidst encircling gloom and darkness every where. Kerosene is not easily available; if available one can only get it at an exorbitant rate.

            The most important department is the so-called community health centre which was inaugurated by the former chief minister Shri W.Nipamacha Singh three years ago. As per the governor’s order number 3140, dated 20-3-85, there were at least twenty one employees besides three doctors of whom two should be specialists. I could meet only one grade IV employee who told me that ‘he was all in all’ meaning that he is a doctor, a nurse, everything.  What about the rooms inside the centre? You will be welcomed by worst sights than that of the SDO office. Before you enter the rooms, you better close your nose. Other details better be left unsaid.

            Today there are about six high schools there. You will be surprised to know that many teachers who are on the register are not to be seen. They have been enjoying life somewhere else by engaging unqualified local hands out of their salary. There are no mathematics and science teachers. In some schools the number of students is almost equal to the number of teachers. Once upon a time, three Meitei teachers were posted there. One of them married a local girl. The three teachers spoke the local dialect and identified themselves as the local people. May their tribe increase! But they were now transferred or retired. The high school where I passed matriculation used to produce cent per cent successful candidates in the matriculation examination under Assam board. But today those schools fail to produce a matriculate, maybe one or two during the last fifteen years. Different churches compete to have their own schools in almost every village. Their teachers who are poorly paid most of the time do not get their pay for months and months together. You talk about  quality education here. There is  no education in Tipaimukh today.

            Only the redeeming feature of life there is that the village authority members carry on their administrative works sincerely. Even here they are so much lagging behind of their counterparts in the valley. The pradhans, up-pradhans and members of the gram panchayats get salary and allowances. More important, there has been gradual devolution of powers in the panchayati raj institutions. Elections are held as per scheduled, whereas in the hill there has been no election for ages. The authority members do not get any allowances. I happened to be one of the members of the high-level advisory committee on social policy constituted by the government of Manipur. Of our several recommendations, only the state human rights formation was implemented. The committee felt that the village authority act was outdated and recommended amendment of the act. It even drafted a new framework. But nothing is done so far in this regard. Though the district council act was passed, who knows when this act will come into force! There is a need to strengthen local self-governing institutions every where. With this object in view, the 73rd constitution amendment act was passed and in the light of what is being practiced in the gram panchayats, the hill administration also need overall reorganization and changes.

            Before I conclude, must I mention about the condition of the road which was declared recently as national highway number 150. The road defies imagination. In most places, the black-tops are washed away. If you travel by truck, you move at a snail’s pace and willy-nilly you have to spend one night on the way. Still private trucks go to Tipaimukh once a week for some small business. But no government trucks are willing to go to deliver essential goods and commodities. For all these things, the local people have to depend more on supplies coming from Mizoram. Exasperated at government’s apathy and willful negligence, one senior village leader said to me, “We are practically having our independent life here. If this sort of negligence continues unabated, who knows, we may also take up arms one day”. Patience has a limit. Before people’s patience goes out control, some immediate corrective measures may be taken up. The sooner it is done, the better will be.