Nagaland Governor P B Acharya on Wednesday said that road connectivity was a political job and should be done by politicians.
Speaking as chief guest at the inaugural session of the 48th General Conference of Sumi Kiphimi Kuqhakulu (SKK) at Zutovi village, Acharya said, “You have good leaders and government but where is the governance?” and pointed to the fact that every MLA was getting Rs 2 crore annually for their constituency development.
“Road connectivity is a political job, it should be done by your politicians, bureaucrats, contractors and you have to question them. Stand against corruption, it is the biggest disease. Every year, Nagaland has a budget of Rs 1500 crore, where does it go?” he added.
Acharya pointed out that the Central Government had made it mandatory for every MLA and MP to ‘adopt’ a village, “but none of them have come to me saying they have adopted a village,” he added.
On the occasion, the apex student body of the Sumi community – Sumi Kiphimi Kuqhakulu (SKK) submitted a representation to the Governor, who is also the chief reactor of Nagaland University (NU), wherein they urged him to direct concerned authorities to look into the deplorable conditions of all the roads connecting Lumami, the headquarters of the university.
Acknowledging the importance of the representation, Acharya compared the neighbouring Tezpur University with NU, both started at the same year, and said the former had progressed in leaps and bounds while NU was yet to see development in many areas.
He once again brought up the need for imparting skills instead of just degrees. Acharya also spoke about the diminishing work culture where nobody wanted to be a welder, electrician, plumber, etc. “These are the jobs required in every industry,” he said.
On the Naga political issue, he expressed hope that the peace process would finalize either before or immediately after Christmas.