Naga Council Dimapur demands reinstatement of sub-offices, reiterates lifting of NLTP Act

DIMAPUR — The Naga Council Dimapur (NCD) has asked the government of Nagaland to reinstate the sub-offices created for Dimapur but fell under other districts after curving out Niuland and Chümoukedima from it, or set up new offices.

‘The public feel that when the government established new districts, it should provide all the necessary sub-offices,’ NCD president Etsungmomo Kikon told the media after a joint meeting with the tribal hohos, unions, councillors and other Dimapur-based organisations, including non-Nagas, at the Tourist Lodge on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the house adopted several resolutions including the decision to urge the concerned Department to initiate the immediate functioning of Unity Shopping Mall in Forest Colony and the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) in Purana Bazaar.

Asserting that these big projects are assets to the government, Kikon said not utilising them amounts to depriving the citizens of public facilities.

Meanwhile, NCD vice president Huluto Aye claimed that the shopping mall was allotted for Dimapur district but “shifted to another district” after the Centre sanctioned INR 145 crore for the project. “We are not against any district but whatever belongs to us should be given to us,” he said.

It was resolved during the meeting that the Dimapur-based civil societies would support the NCD towards materialising the charter of demands submitted to the governor of Nagaland during his recent official visit to the district.

These demands included the following: The construction of a bypass road on NH-29, a new Naga Cemetery in Zani village, and a flyover from Plaza Point to the present railway bridge; the completion of a multi-disciplinary sports complex and the District Hospital Dimapur building; and the lifting of the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1989, exclusively in Dimapur.

The house also resolved to establish an action committee with a suitable name under the aegis of NCD Vigilance Committee on September 10 to carry out the resolutions adopted during the Dimapur-based CSOs meeting in December last year. These resolutions include the implementation of ‘One Government One Tax,’ the resolution of the Naga political imbroglio as soon as possible, the streamlining of all business activities within a strict system, and the creation of model rules and regulations for all unions operating in Dimapur.

The house resolved to extend full cooperation in the activities of the vigilance committee “for all-round development, peace and harmony, fair and honest business activities in Dimapur”, according to the minutes of the meeting shared with this newspaper.

It also thanked Minister of Health and Family Welfare, P. Paiwang Konyak for assuring to transform the district hospital into a referral hospital for all districts and donating medical equipment worth INR 66.50 lakh.

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