Uncertainty puts stranded Nagaland citizens in dilemma

“We should not fight the novel coronavirus emotionally but thoughtfully”

Our Correspondent
Kohima, April 27 (EMN): Thousands of people from Nagaland have been stranded in various parts of the country due to the sudden nationwide lockdown imposed by the government of India to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), and with uncertainty in the air whether the measure will be extended beyond May 3, many are left confused whether or not to return home if travel restriction is relaxed.

Eastern Mirror spoke to some stranded students and working people from the state to enquire about their well-being and future plans if the lockdown is lifted.

W Honka Konyak, 30, a final year student at Central India Theological Seminary in Madhya Pradesh, said that he was planning to come home (Nagaland) after his exams but his train was cancelled and he had to stay back at the college hostel due to the lockdown.

Konyak said that “it’s very hard to get train ticket” to Nagaland, so, he had booked ticket for April 10 before cancelling in view of the lockdown.

“There is no direct train from Madhya Pradesh to Nagaland; that’s why we used to book three to four months in advance for trains from MP to Guwahati; sometime it (ticket) is not confirmed, because there are only two trains (Bhopal to Guwahati),” he said, adding that he had to catch a train from Bhopal to Guwahati and then from Guwahati to Dimapur to come home.

He went on to say that he didn’t seek for help but had applied for the government’s special package for distressed and stranded students and is awaiting the relief.

However, Nohosanu Viswentso, who is doing her bachelor’s degree in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology at Dr. S.R Chandrashekhar Institute of Speech and Hearing in Bengaluru, said that she has no plans of going home even if travel restrictions are relaxed, saying that she had to attend classes and write exams once the lockdown is lifted.

The 21-year-old student, who stays with two of her cousins and a friend at an apartment in Bengaluru, informed that they had received relief goods like rice, dal, potatoes, oil and floor twice from Naga Task Force (NTF) Bengaluru. She acknowledged Zakietuo Noudi, a member of NTF who had been calling them to ask for their well-being and providing them with necessary relief items when needed.

For Yansathung Kikon, 22, who worked as a manager at a salon and spa along with four other friends at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, the lockdown hit him and his colleagues hard, rendering them jobless, followed by financial crisis.

Kikon and his four friends managed to take shelter at an accommodation provided by the proprietors of their company after the nationwide lockdown was imposed. He shared that that they sought help from the Naga Students’ Union Rajasthan (NSUR), who helped them with an amount of INR 3,000 as relief. He informed they were able to buy some essential goods like rice and vegetables with the amount they received from the government of Nagaland through NSUR.

However, he said that they were running out of essential commodities and don’t know how long it would last. He added that they had applied for the state government’s “special package” of INR 4,000 for stranded workers.

When asked about their future plan, they said that they are planning to stay back but added ‘it entirely depends on the situation’. He added that if the situation doesn’t get worse, they might stay back and resume their job in Rajasthan.

The president of NSUR, Asimbe, informed Eastern Mirror that about 150 people have been given monetary aid in Rajasthan from CM Relief Fund.

Seyiephre-ü Kire, another 27-year-old beautician who works at a hair and beauty spa in Kolkata, informed that she was stuck in her rented apartment after her flight scheduled for March 24 got cancelled owing to the nationwide lockdown.

She said that Nagaland House in Kolkata had delivered some essential commodities like floor, dal, rice and oil and Dettol soap at her doorstep in Poddar Nagar. She informed that she had applied for INR 4,000 relief announced by the state government for stranded workers but is yet to receive it.

Kire said that she was homesick and apprehensive if the flight services are further suspended in the coming month.

According to Dijang Kamson, 34, a member of the North East Helpline and representative of Nagaland Welfare Associates, Mumbai, people from Northeast should not be in rush but rather stay back at their respective places if the lockdown is lifted.

“We have already fought this battle (against Covid-19) for one month and I think we should stay back. It’s a matter of few more days; we should remain patient,” he said.

Expressing concern over going to one’s native place from emotional reaction, he feared that people might contract the virus and spread eve among their own communities. “We should not fight this disease (coronavirus) emotionally but thoughtfully,” Kamson said.

He stated that the safest way of fighting the pandemic is by staying at one’s respective places and not venturing out as the Covid-19 cases are increasing at an alarming rate.

It was informed that anticipating trouble after the nationwide lockdown was imposed in March, a group of like-minded people formed the North East Helpline to cater to the needs of stranded workers and students from the region in Mumbai.