S Henlly Phom
MON, MARCH 10
CHILDREN sliding in their indigenous handmade three wheel carts, young girls carrying water carafe in a basket on their heads, men with timber on their shoulders along with the ubiquitous Naga dao, dogs barking in the dusty road of Wakching village under Mon District presents an idyllic picture. But on closer look and interaction with the elders and students body time seems to have stood still and life is challenging. The sweeping changes in the world, and in parts of Nagaland are distinctly absent.
Wakching village celebrated 100 years of its existence in 2013 and to its credit the village is home to the 5th Government School set up in Nagaland in the year 1958. It also has an Inspection Bungalow, built in the year 1928 during the British rule. The six-bedded village hospital was also built by the British.
The 5th oldest school of the State, Government High School Wakching, which has produced many great leaders of the State has remained as it is and now in need of desperate repair, instead of being preserved as a heritage piece. The shocking infrastructure of the school is seemingly competing with the teaching system.
The students are forced to brave the winter chill and monsoon rains, worse still without basic facilities, such as drinking water or serviceable toilets. Worst of all, the school has only one science and maths teacher in its parole to teach till 10th Standard, making it humanly impossible for the teacher and students to learn anything worthwhile in these subjects.
Adding salt to injury, the school was functioning without an Assistant Head Master (AHM) while the Head Master attached to the school was reportedly indisposed. The deplorable condition of the school came to the fore front during the Eastern Naga Students Federation (ENSF) Day III officials visit to Wakching village for its ‘Advocacy Tour’.
Adding on to their misery, the village hospital built during British rule and which has been upgraded to Primary Health Centre (PHC) was also found in a miserable state without an ambulance, doctors or staff nurse to attend to the patients in case of emergency.
Talking to Eastern Mirror, the village elders and folks shared that the PHC has been without a doctor or staff nurse and in case of emergency the patients are rushed to Mon for treatment which not only increases expenses but is a great inconvenience for patients with the pathetic road conditions. Ironically, the ambulance funded under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scheme is not in their village and they have no idea of its whereabouts.
An abandoned old building catches the eye only to be told that the house was an Inspection Bungalow (IB) used by the British administrators in 1928. But with time and no care, the building is on the verge of collapse despite repeated assurances by State government officials to restore the structure.
Seeing need for restoration, a concerned man approached the district authority seeking for permission to renovate the building and set up a school instead of leaving it unoccupied. But the district authority concerned did not take the suggestion kindly and it has remained thus.
The people of Wakching village are fortunate to have infrastructure remaining from the days of the British Empire. But negligence by those in authority and governance overpower their dreams for their village. How much will it take to restore a sense of belonging for people here, with development that is duly theirs. The return of being one with the rest of the State will far outweigh the financial investment which will be involved in bringing up to date education, health and the restoration of remnants of heritage that belongs to all the people of the state.
