Crisis and tragedy visits Manipur now and then impacting the lives of the people inhabiting this state. In 2020, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that forced many to refrain from group activities, including festivities. The pandemic continued till early 2022 impacting almost all activities including those related to economy and festivities. When the pandemic started tapering in the early part of 2022, Manipur like any other places started picking up the lost ground and the economic activities literally bloomed, especially with many young, educated and dedicated joining the stream with major successes.
Extortion was at a minimal and many of the new businesses do not depend on the government for marketing their products and competed successfully in the market. Some of the products were import substitution while some were innovative and aspire for market outside the state. One major advantage of this movement was that these entrepreneurs do not necessarily cluster their units in the Imphal areas but was spread all across the state with some in district headquarters doing pretty well.
It auger very well for the economy of the state and these units were providing employment to the large number of unemployed youth. Manipur had in the past many fly by night operators who took advantage of the general greed of individuals to collect huge deposits with the promise for high returns and then scoot, though many have been arrested the depositors are yet to get back their hard earned money. The new crop of entrepreneurs is different from these quick rich cheaters but try to succeed through innovation and hard work.
Unfortunately, the boom did not last. The crisis that unfolded from May 03, 2023 was at the beginning thought that it will not last long and that within a period of 2 or 3 months it will taper. Many of the entrepreneurs also thought similarly and tried to manage the troubled period. But even after almost 18 months the situation is totally not conducive for running a business or a factory as the law and order is poor and the economy is in doldrums. The rampant extortion has made life miserable for anybody in the state. Extortion on the highways, on the other roads, on business establishment and at homes is so rampant that many businesses have been forced to close and those who are better off and can afford had shifted their base outside the state. One can see the number of establishment closed in the main market area.
Last year there was no Ningol Chakkouba or for that matter Diwali due to the crisis, though this column suggested to continue with the tradition though with much lesser expenditure to show the resilience of the Meitei besides improving the economy due to the sales during these festivals. But it was generally decided to do away with the festivals, though many families invited their ningols on a much later date though the gifts were limited. Some very well to do does not suffer during the crisis but most have been hit very hard and the disposable income is miniscule. Many still continue to support the conflict effort as well as the relief camps, though now the support is slowly dwindling and extortion has become a major economic activity. One does not know how many groups are indulging in this activity and quite a few have been targets of firing at their residences, bomb blasts, keeping grenades at the houses, etc.
This year, it seems to have been decided that Ningol Chakkouba will be on but not on a lavish scale as was the usual. Due to the crisis, the focus will be on local made products as gifts, which is good for the state economy. Last year the fish farmers suffered the most as their stock could not be sold and this year, flood came repeatedly and many of the stocks had escaped. But hopefully, they will be able to earn a bit during this festival.
Many IDPs are not opposed to Ningol Chakkouba though those staying in the temporary shelters at Sajiwa who are mostly from Ekou will not join as they could not call their ningols and will join only when they are resettled in the original homestead land but they have no objections to others celebrating the festivals. Community hosting has been planned for the ningol IDPs in many part of the Manipur Central Valley and it is an extension of the community hosting of ningols of other communities that started during the pre-COVID period. In fact a few communities had earlier started observing this day by inviting ningols married to Meiteis to a feast.
Ningol Chakkouba was becoming a festival for the entire state and not restricted to the Meitei only as there is no religion involved but rather a meeting of the married female siblings with their brothers and other sisters. A family oriented festival where the sole objective is to meet and talk and give away gifts to the married ningols. It would have been ideal if all communities adopt this as a common festival like New Year Day as it is devoid of any ideology except the love and affection among the siblings and parents.
Though many are preparing for Ningol Chakkouba, nothing is spoken about Diwali. This festival has religious connotations but if a decision was made that no crackers and only candles manufactured in the relief camps shall be used; it will provide market for the IDPs. Many when they visited relief camps or even on the road had purchased packets of candles, besides detergent powder and dish-wash. The latter two are used regularly but not the candles and if Diwali is observed with the use of only candles made in the relief camps it will provide an outlet and income for the IDPs. Besides, crackers ought to be banned and it should only be a festival of light and not sound.
On the other side most of the roads in Manipur except for a very few is in very bad shape and the repeated floods have made it worse as water is an enemy of bitumen. It was announced in the first half of this month that Rs 400 crore have been sanctioned by the Government of India for repairing the roads affected by the flood. One is not sure which roads have been included in the list and whether work had started and one hopes that works start as soon as possible as the roads are no longer vehicle worthy. It is in this context that the announcement of approval of Rs 3,500 crore for construction of concrete roads in Imphal and district headquarters becomes relevant. Concrete roads will not be affected by flood, except when the whole segment is washed away by the force of the flood water. Concrete roads last 20 to 30 years or even more but its longevity depends on various factors like the quality of the concrete mix, thickness of the concrete, the condition of the sub-grade that is very poor in Manipur, climate and weather conditions and the type and volume of the traffic.
The standard strength requirements for concrete roads are for Low Volume roads 2500 -3000 psi; for Medium Volume roads 3000-3500 psi; for High Volume roads 3500-4500 psi and for Heavy Duty Roads 4500-5000 psi. Low Volume roads are generally parking lots, residential streets, etc; Medium Volume roads are collector roads, commercial areas; High Volume roads are highways, interchange ramps, etc; and Heavy Duty Roads are industrial areas, airport pavements, etc. The problem in Manipur is to lay concrete of not less than 2,500 psi compressive strength as Manipur does not have quality sand and aggregates and these need to be brought from outside.
Stone chips used in Manipur for building is basically hard sandstone with poor crushing strength and with poor quality raw materials, the finished products cannot be that strong enough to sustain, for say 20-30 years. Technically there will be many challenges such as the quality of the soil and aggregates, maintaining environmental conditions while casting like temperature, humidity, wind and first of all a stable, compacted stable and level sub-grade.
The testing and quality control has to be on a fixed time schedule say compressive strength test on the 7. 14 and 28 days and the ways things are managed in Manipur one is apprehensive about the final product; it may cost heavily but its life span may be even less than 20 years. What mix design Manipur will adopt will also tell on the final product. The cement water ratio will be critical and the tendency to add more water will tell on the quality of the surface. Further, the illegal cuts that are happening in Manipur will drastically impact the quality of the roads built. If the work is not executed as per the specification, the concrete will be sub-standard and below the compressive strength and will crumble in a short time...
(The views expressed are personal)
