Like the legendary captains of the folklores, Deputy Commissioner of Anini Tayor Jampen refused to leave the deck of his troubled ship. Jampen’s resolve to stay back in the district headquarter while half his deputies fled the place and were missing in action (MIA) is actually an extraordinary display of commitment towards the people he has been appointment to serve. And given the track record of the subservient behavior of bureaucrat’s’ towards their political masters, it was indeed a pleasant experience for most of the scribes in the state when he spoke and issued press release about ‘do or die’ situation gripping the district and how his ‘SOS’ failed to generate any reaction in power corridors at Itanagar. It was heartening to see an administrator’s candid response and reaction of his utter helplessness when his repeated ‘SOS’ fell on deaf ears of officials in Itanagar and his MIA officers.
By any yardstick, government reacted very late to appeals from a ‘general in battleground’, who knew what was in store for Anini. Nevertheless, the last two weeks witnessed high-profile visits of the Chief Minister along with his cabinet colleagues followed by the Governor. Each of these visits definitely did wonders to the locals, morally and psychologically. Each of these visits was like a soothing balm on a splitting headache and definitely did provide short-term relief to the pains and agonies of Idus and Mishmis. One is sure that locals must have felt loved and cared. To be fair, government did what best it could. In the last moment additional sorties were deployed, few more lacs of essential drugs and medicines were provided. But what is next? Is short term approach a permanent solution? One hopes not.
Without attaching any negative connotation to the much desirable visits of the Chief Minister, Cabinet Ministers and the Governor to Anini, conscious Arunachalees are disappointed lot with leaders’ myopic outlook and deliveries so far. Each visit was followed keenly with bated breath for an announcement of a long term solution to food and health crisis because of nature’s furies and vagaries at Anini but that never happened. Be it the Chief Minister or the Governor, Border Road Organisation (BRO) and its road maintenance capabilities was made the scapegoat for crisis in Anini. It is obvious that BRO, not being a state agency, is the easiest and safest target to deflect the inefficiencies of its own state government departments like Food & Civil Supplies, Health Services, Civil Aviation, Disaster Management etc. But Ostrich syndrome could be their nemesis at some point in time. Therefore, as an observer to each of these high profile visits, one found that visits were more of a political stunt to assuage the people rather than to address the real-time problems of healthcare and food crisis.
Obviously and naturally, question is, with so many brains of creamy class of UPSC and APPSC officers forming the ‘think-tank’ of government, why are there no permanent solutions to this annual ritual of Anini being cut-off from rest of the world for 2-3 months, followed by food and medicine crisis? So called ‘think-tank’ in Itanagar must sit up and work-out a standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with Anini like situation in future. Ostrich syndrome is curable if there is political will; and Khandu should stop defending his incapable think-tank. It is only inhumane that ‘people first’ principled government of the day failed this time yet again; and mercilessly took this district back to days of yore when people’s staple diet consisted of wild fruits, roots, leaves and lives.
Locals never raised the road connectivity as an issue since they are well versed with annual imminent furies of nature but perhaps, their desire is to have enough and perennial supplies of medicines and essential commodities during such period of the year. To quote an official who served at Anini few years ago, “Having experienced 3 months of road disruption as officer at Anini, I am of the firm belief that FCI should be made to stock buffer rice for 4-5 months in Feb/March itself. And secondly, shopkeepers should be encouraged to stock for 2-3 months of ERC’s. Thirdly, cold-storage/warehouse need to be built at Anini, Mipi, Alinye, Etalin, Arzoo and Anelieh for summer season. Fourth, DC should be given contingency fund for stocking ERC’s at these focal points like CO headquarters and finally, frequency of air-services to Anini and other locations either through IAF or through state govt leased sorties need to be increased during this particular period, without people asking for it.”
That sounds so logical and fair but in contrast, All Idu Mishmi Students Union (AIMSU) was being unfair and illogical in calling a bandh when the government’s resolve to end the crisis began taking shape. Allegedly it was a politically motivated move - may be true, may be false, no one’s really bothered, but the sheer timing of the strike does raise a concern. The very fact that the activists were silent for more than a month since the crisis began was appalling, to say the least. Jempen and his team of brave officers, unlike those black-sheeps who fled the battleground on some pretext or other, would be suitably rewarded. Also, one would like to believe that Jempen and company are not yet done with their assignment and they would handle this crisis beyond this monsoon. To stop recurrence of such calamities, state government must get the acts together of its directorates – health, civil aviation, disaster management, food and civil supplies – for sake of better governance.
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