EMN
DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 28
THE administration of Peren district was Monday prevented from relocating to the new administrative headquarters of the district, by protestors opposing the move.
The administration’s bid to relocate, starting October 28 officially, to the new ‘Peren model township’ was stalled when an unspecified number of protestors, took to the streets in the morning and clamped a lighting ‘bandh’ in the town. There were no reports of violence at the time of writing this news report but sources said the town was tense. Reliable sources said that the agitators were from a “section of Peren town” understood to be led by the Zeliang People Organization (ZPO), Peren Students’ Union and Zeliang women groups. The local organizations are unhappy that the administration decided on shifting to the new complex while infrastructure in the new locality was reportedly still incomplete or ‘inadequate.’ The protestors were led by women, the source said, and said to have protested in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office.
Additional sources said that the agitators exacted a written statement from the deputy commissioner, Senti Ao. The contents of the ‘written statement’ were unavailable at this time but are understood to contain assurances against relocation at this juncture. Constant attempts to reach the chief secretary of Nagaland and the deputy commissioner of Peren, for comments, were futile.
Deputy Commissioner Senti Ao also issued a note today citing a recent communiqué from the Commissioner of Nagaland that Peren district headquarter would be shifted in ‘phase manner’ and not as tentatively fixed to be on October 28. The deputy commissioner said he has ‘briefed the agitating public against the scheduled shifting.’ The public were of the view that basic amenities and other infrastructures were inadequate, the administration said.
The administration and a number of local community organizations are currently embroiled in a heated controversy about whether or not the administration should relocate to the new administrative township at this juncture. Local organizations such as the ZPO are contenting against the move on the plea that infrastructure in the new DC complex are incomplete or inadequate. The ZPO also cites a Guwahati High Court order that the headquarters may be relocated only after the chief secretary of Nagaland undertakes a ‘spot-verification’ and that he was satisfied with the infrastructure.
An official in one of the state’s developmental departments said on condition of anonymity Monday evening that the agitators were from a “section of Peren town.” According to the source, the chief secretary has already visited and verified the area during ‘May-June’ this year. The official expressed inability to comment about when the administration would shift to the new location after today’s agitations.
As matters go to head in Peren, the ZPO also issued a press release today updating the media on the day’s event. The ZPO has expressed ‘heartfelt gratitude’ to the “formidable volunteers” of the frontal organizations of Peren district including the ZPO and Peren Students’ Union.
“The bandh has been successfully staged ultimately enabling the volunteers to obtain written statement from the Deputy Commissioner, Peren who lately, succumbing to the pressure not basically drawn of the Chief Secretary’s verification report but more on the dictats of political pressure had even tried haplessly to monitor the shifting of Peren District Headquarters stationed in Dimapur,” the ZPO said in its press release.
The organization has also alleged “high-handedness” by Senior Superintendent of Police of Peren Richard Yimto. The police officer is accused of “insulting the ZPO” by ‘shouting and screaming at the top of his voice like a mad man’ that “ZPO is defunct” when the president of Zeliang Mipui Madi (women Organization) approached him.
