Manipur CM O Ibobi Singh
SIPHRO slams Singh for giving ‘false’ statement about Lungthulien-Vanbawng road
Rengkai (Mizo News): Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh has been caught red handed for making false statement about the road connectivity between the state and Mizoram in the Manipur Assembly on July 15.
Sinlung Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Organisation (SIPHRO) has pointed out that Ibobi, who is also in-charge of Finance Department, in his budget estimates presentation for 2014-15 in the State Assembly informed the House that Construction of Lungthulien (Manipur) to Vanbawng (Mizoram) road taken up under the Inter State Connectivity Scheme (ISCS) has been completed. The remark was published in The Sangai Express; Imphal, July 16, 2014, Wednesday; Vol: XV/294 – Front Page.
SIPHRO refuted the claim made by Manipur CM as “baseless, concocted and a deep insult to the House and also to the people of Tipaimukh sub-division”.
“The make-believe claim made by the three-time CM of Manipur himself clearly highlights an unfortunate ground reality of most projects which are completed only in paper and name, but never on ground,” the rights body said in a statement.
SIPHRO said the people in the “ignored Hmar Hills are unaware of the existence of any such Lungthulien-Vanbawng road.”
“Forget its construction or completion. SIPHRO’s independent study upon the claim made by CM’s revealed that even the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the mentioned road project is yet to be prepared by the concerned authority. It is amusing to note how a project could already be completed without a DPR,” SIPHRO added.
It may be noted that Mizonews.Net was also in Tipaimukh sub-division in January this year and there is no such road as claimed by the Chief Minister. Even the road — Tipaimukh Road — is poorly maintained.
“Time and again, the people of the abandoned Tipaimukh constituency have been repeatedly begged the government of Manipur for a motorable surface transport system. However, till date, their pleas and cries remained unheard, unfulfilled, ignored and rejected,” SIPHRO said.
The NGO also pointed out the fact that the National Highway-150 that connects Manipur with Mizoram by a Suspension Bridge at Sipuikawn village in Tipaimukh sub-division had been one of the most important lifeline to the inter-State travelers during the 70s and 90s.
“In the absence of maintenance works by the State PWD and due to the transfer of the entire BRTF after 90s from the area, the said bridge, which was washed away during the early parts of the 90s owing to heavy floods, remained unrepaired and unconstructed. Forget roads, even a lifeline bridge has remained forgotten for more than two decades.,” SIPHRO added.
SIPHRO also made an appeal to the media fraternity in Manipur to verify the veracity of the CM’s claim, and also highlight the pathetic road conditions of the so-called National Highway in Tipaimukh areas where the functioning of the local government machinery is negligible on all fronts due to the bottleneck of surface road communication.
“By knowingly denying roads – the basic vehicle to progress – to the people in Tipaimukh constituency, the government is discriminating them against their rights to life, rights to livelihood, rights to education, rights to food, rights to infrastructure development, etc. How long should the government deny such basic amenities to its own people?” the NGO said.
The honour of the State and its people is greatly at stake with the falsified claim made by none other than the honourable CM of Manipur in the Assembly House, it added.
