Dimapur, April 3 (EMN): The Lotha Hoho has taken to task the Lotha elected representatives for what the organisation called as the legislators’ failure to speak for the rights of their electorate – in connection with the distribution of road fund in the state.
In a press release issued on Monday, the Lotha Hoho delivered a stinging rebuke to the Lotha legislators stating: “If you do not speak for your electorate, your being our MLA is meaningless”.
According to the Lotha Hoho, the state government has “discriminated” Wokha district and “treated even inferior to the sub-divisions” while distributing road fund during the last three years, 2014 – 2017. The Lotha legislators, it contended, have failed to speak against this ‘discrimination’.
“Will the Lotha MLAs speak for the rights of the Lotha people since we have elected you to stand for our rights. We do not accept the argument that MLAs should adhere to the political party’s whip/directives/decisions; because you are there as our representative and for our rights. Yes, for normal functioning and for common causes, we agree that you honour your party’s decisions; but not when you own electorate is discriminated,” it stated.
While stating that ‘normal variations’ in allocation of fund was ‘understandable’, the Lotha Hoho pointed out that the variations in said years ‘seem to be beyond logic and the Lotha Hoho wants to know on what basis the road funds, for the various years have been distributed.’
“If distributed on the basis of area, Wokha district, with an area of 1628 sq km, is fourth largest, after Kohima, Phek and Mon. If distributed on the basis of population, Wokha with 2011 population of 1,66,239, is the sixth, after Dimapur, Kohima, Mon, Tuensang and Mokokchung.
“If distributed on the basis of road length, Wokha has one of the longest road lengths, with one National Highway (NH 61/2) and two state Highways, namely Wokha-Merapani road with a road length of 62 (sixty two) km and Wokha-Bokajan road with a road length of more than 94 km and many more District roads. So when various sub-divisions, with road lengths much less than that of Wokha got more fund than Wokha, it surely amounts to discrimination,” the press release read.
It asked the state government as well as the Lotha legislators to “explain to the Nagas”, why Wokha district should be discriminated. “Is it because the CM or the finance minister or the PWD minister is non-Lotha?”
“Since the Wokha-Merapani road has recently been declared as NH (after having been neglected by the state government for the last many years), why not renovate the Wokha-Bokajan road which has almost been abandoned, since the BRO left the road about a decade ago. This road, which directly connects Wokha with Dimapur, is very prospective for the district, since most commercial and non-official business are (sic) carried out via Dimapur.
“The road from Bokajan to Wokha is bypassed at Ralan and diverted to Botsa (Touphema village) and given to BRO and being constructed as one of the best roads, just because the village happens to be that of a former CM of Nagaland. Is this not unfair to give priority to a village and bypass the district headquarter?” it wondered.
