City student leaders appeal for transparency in transportation arrangement for stranded Nagas

Says announcement of one-time financial assistance of INR 10,000 discriminatory

Dimapur, May 14 (EMN): The All Cities Covid-19 Task Force for Nagaland has appealed to the government of Nagaland for transparency in arrangement of transportation for the stranded Nagas and demanded concrete decision and plan in regard to the special train arrangement.

In a memorandum to the state chief minister, Neiphiu Rio on Thursday, signed by conveners, secretaries and members of student unions of various states, requested the government to arrange special train as soon as possible and confirm them the date of boarding, place of boarding and the necessary formalities required to avail the special train.

“We all are trying our best to educate people, rendering help physically to people in need despite the risk surrounding us. However, we are all helpless in this situation as the state government has not yet responded to us with the concrete plans to take our people back home. We want your immediate intervention and advice on the above points,” it stated.

“There is lack of coordination and communication between government appointed POC and student leaders or church leaders who are working on the frontline for the stranded people,” it added.

The student leaders said on May 12, all the Naga students’ union presidents outside Nagaland had a video conference meeting and resolved to form the All Cities Covid-19 Task Force for Nagaland.

“We want to appreciate the efforts so far taken up by the government towards stranded people in fighting against Covid-19. However, we being at the war front in the red zones have been receiving the effects of the pandemic where our government is not seriously considering it. We do appreciate the help received from our Govt. but there are bigger things to be attended to at this hour, so we request your good office to consider and fulfil our requests below,” read the communiqué.

The group also requested the state government to consult the Naga students’ union of different states before implementing any plans as union is accountable to answer all queries and concerns in their respective states.

Citing that the given Covid-19 helpline numbers do not respond most of the time, it urged the government to review it.

Seeking update on the status of the quarantine and isolation preparation, it asked what are the facilities provided, how many days of quarantine is required, will it be district wise or everyone will be quarantined in Dimapur after reaching Dimapur Railway station.

On chief minister special financial package process, the group said ” Many of our members have not received the amount, and we are being bombarded with calls where we explain and give them confidence that the amount will be credited soon.

On the one-time assistance of INR 10,000 announcement, the group said it is “discriminatory” against many likeminded stranded Nagas who have genuinely decided to stay back considering the sensitivity of the situation. It demanded that the criteria should be re-worked, and lenience should be given to all Nagas outside Nagaland to avail the benefit including stranded Nagas within Northeast.

“We are trying our best to educate everyone about the safety to stay where we are. To clear the air, not all stranded are planning to return. However, it is also not in our hands because those coming back are genuinely affected. After verification, we found that the majority are from a poor background who came out to earn something for their family and parents at home. Most of these groups of people were the ones who were working in the shopping malls, salons, restaurant, hotel, security guard, hospitality companies and other unorganized sectors and have lost their jobs or are not receiving any salary as the business has been closed due to the nationwide Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. They are vulnerable group of people and are going to face more hardship as their business or companies are unlikely to start very soon,” it read.

There are also large groups of students who are vulnerable as most of their hostels, PGs, and paying guest have been closed and most of them who are staying with their friends rented room are facing untold hardships and also stranded medical patients who need immediate evacuation, it added.

The group also stated that there should be no delay tactics to evacuate the vulnerable stranded people.

“The more the government delays, the more vulnerable stranded people will be as the cases in India are increasing daily. Moreover, as Nagas and Northeast people are more prone to racial discrimination, this aggravates the situation more. There is still no strong voice against all these from our government or even the NGOs who today are requesting us to stay back. Please evacuate stranded “Vulnerable Nagas” without further delay.”

It suggested that the evacuation of the stranded people be done via the nearest train station and that those stranded people in places without access to such train stations may be transported to the nearest one and sent home by special trains.

Citing rumours and fake news in social media platforms stigmatising stranded people planning to come home, it requested the government to take strict action against those spreading false information.

“As students’ union body we do take care of student’s activities and other curriculum for the welfare of our people, but unfortunately, we are compelled to carry dead bodies and look after sick and needy people. These are works that are supposed to be rendered by the government and its agencies, but students’ union has stepped out and has shouldered bigger responsibilities, so failing to acknowledge or hear our grievances will lead to bigger problems among the people and the Govt should be held accountable for it.” it stated.

Stating that the task force is a student body and being a non-political organisation, it said any constructive measures and assistance be it financial or suggestion, are welcomed from any organisation.

Further, the group appealed to all the civil societies, NGOs, political parties, and organisations to play an important role and be rational instead of confusing and creating panic in people’s minds.

“We hope that the state government will respond to all our queries failing which we will have no option but to stop assisting the government. Thereby, the government should send their nodal officers and staff to all the cities and take up the overdue responsibilities of caring of the stranded people dealing with racial discriminations, dead cases, hospital cases, rental issues, and many other issues,” it added.