In every household or roadside eateries or any gathering of the young and old besides womenfolk, the main point of discussion is about the present clashes between Meiteis and Kukis.
Besides the daily dose of clashes leading to death and injury to several persons, the multitude of issues thrown up by the unrest and the response of the state besides the activities of the state and central security forces.
It is the same in social media chatter also and nobody seems to bother about the mundane matters of life. Information as to which shops are open during curfew hours or where does one get to buy vegetables round the clock are passed around by word of mouth or through mobiles, but there is never a real debate about sky-rocketing prices of daily essentials and vegetables.
As a part of the unrest, there is a blockade being enforced in the main lifeline of the state NH 2 at Kangpokpi area while the other highway NH 37 Imphal-Jiribam cannot be relied upon as a viable alternative.
In the Jiribam highway also, there are sporadic attacks on convoys. And this blockade is directly affecting the supply-lines both in the valley and hills while the stock position in the godowns of wholesalers are dipping day by day. Even the courts seem reluctant to intervene while the state administration as well as the security forces has refused to act. Both the state and centre seems to have forgotten its bounden duty of taking up measures to open the national highways at any cost.
As we said yesterday, the sufferings of the daily wage earners and street vendors has been forgotten by everyone including the state in the melee of confusion.
It is indeed disheartening to hear the head of government say that the state is confused in view of the proliferation of a number of civil society organisations (CSOs).
We shall not go into the details or conditions leading to emergence of new and newer CSOs in addition to the already existing ones. We would rather discuss the state of mind of the present government in the backdrop of the present unrest and its disconnected musings.
Howsoever be chaotic, the situation or disturbances, the state cannot at all afford to be confused. If the government says it is confused, it is absolving its right to govern or manage the crisis facing the state.
Coming back to the matter of dip in stocks and rising prices, we would like a few concerned citizens to kick-start a discussion on it as it is already burning holes in the pockets of both haves and have-nots.
Take for example, the price of both Meitei Cheng and superfine rice has reached Rs 50 per kilogram now in the market and nobody is debating it. We have gotten so much used to free rice doled out during the pandemic; we seem to be forfeiting our own right to object to price hike.
The quantum of free rice was such that even those families, who are adverse to superfine rice brought in from outside the state and whose taste buds or stomach has only place for the local rice, had grown accustomed to superfine rice.
The harvest was bad last year due to untimely seasonal rains and delay in availability of fertilizers. Poinu or the harvesting season always brings joy to the farming community and every farmer, rich or poor, prays for a good harvest. This year, farmers are expecting a good harvest if not the best.
The unrest had clearly affected agriculture activities in both the valley and hills. Security had to be provided to the farmers working in the fields, as militants keep taking pot-shots at farmers and even killing one in Bishnupur district. Now, one has to wait and see how paddy and rice are priced after the harvest in Poinu.
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