Question on Nagaland’s poor roads features in exam paper

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Feb. 21: Poor road condition is one omnipresent problem in Nagaland. From gridlocks, to potholes, poor road condition across Nagaland has become a major problem for daily commuters, drivers, and even pedestrians.

Several organisations in the state have come forward to protest against the condition of roads, at the same time asking the government to carry out repair works across the state.

Recently, the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) appears to have came out with a ‘strategy’ to get the opinions of students about the road conditions. The NBSE put out a question—at the ongoing High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examinations, English paper—to describe poor road conditions in Nagaland, with pictures provided for reference.

Along with the pictures, the NBSE had included some phrases/sentences for the students to complete it. The fragments consisted of “…causes fatal accidents… extensive damage to vehicles…traffic jams…absence of proper drainage systems… low quality material used… should be priority for any government….”

Eastern Mirror interviewed some students appearing their HSLC examinations on how they reacted to the question, including their opinions about the poor road conditions in Nagaland. Nramlung Dailiam, who is appearing the exam from Peren district, opined that any political party/parties that come to power in the state after elections should make it a priority to start their developmental works by first looking into the conditions of roads.

“They should first repair roads when they come to power. Also the public should be equally responsible to maintain roads in their locality instead of always blaming the government. As we are the ones using the road, we should also care about it,” Dailiam said.

Also, Mhonchan Patton, a student of Holy Cross Hr. Sec. School, Dimapur, shared his opinion by reminding that since government exists for the welfare of the people, they should act accordingly.

“If it is not possible for the government to contribute to every citizen one by one, at least, the government should contribute for the welfare of public by first looking after the infrastructure, esp., the roads, as it has become a major problem in the state,” Patton stated.

Calls made to the state’s PWD minister, Tongpang Ozukum went unanswered. Despite assurance (in texts) to get back later, there was no response from the minister till the filing of this report.