MOIRANG/BISHNUPUR/NAMBOL: K Inaocha Singh is upset that the price of urea has shot up manifold under the present BJP-led government in Manipur.
He wants the next government – whichever party or coalition forms it – to stabilise the price for the benefit of retailers like him as well as the farmers. The government rate for a 45 kg bag of urea is Rs 270 but Singh alleged it was being sold at Rs 1,400 in the black market.
“There is black-marketing. It is sold to people in Burma (Myanmar) and other places,” the man from Moirang told this newspaper on Monday.
“Look at my shop. I have everything except urea. It is so essential to farmers,” he said, pointing to the miscellaneous items stacked on the floor and the shelves.
Singh said if he purchased urea at the price of the black market and sold it with a marginal profit, the police would come, pick him up and he would not be able to do anything. “The government has no plans for the farmers,” he claimed.
The alleged black-marketing of urea is among the election issues. Recently, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had accused the BJP-led government of diverting its quota of urea to the state’s hill districts where poppy is allegedly grown for opium.
He said although Manipur was getting twice the supply of urea it needs, the farmers complained of shortage. He had alleged the government was fully complicit in this.
His barbs were based on the statement of Loumi Shimee Apunba Lup, an Imphal-based farmers’ body. It had received complaints from the farmers over the shortage of urea due to smuggling. The farmers had staged protests against the “artificial” crisis.
During a recent visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed 60% of the households in Manipur had been covered with tap water under the Jal Jeevan Mission. However, an auto-rickshaw driver, who identified himself as N Singh, alleged the services had been erratic.
“I don’t have the numbers but the BJP is known to talk big. Modiji had come and said every household will have access to tap water. I get it twice a month,” Singh said.
“Modiji keeps visiting foreign countries. He is concerned only about the rich. His government proposed to hand the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport of Imphal to a private party. People are angry,” Singh said.
Perhaps, it is for fear or their disinterest in politics that not many people will come forward and talk to journalists freely. Some, who did, said there is no difference among political parties.
They alleged merit does not count in Manipur and one is required to shell out lakhs of rupees to get a government job. The locals also complained of bad roads in pockets, alleged deprivation of the beneficiaries of the government’s welfare schemes etc.
However, the government earned praise for the “Chief Minister-gi Hakshelgi Tengbang” (CMHT) scheme and the “Go To Hills” initiative.
The CMHT is a health insurance scheme that provides cashless treatment to the poor and covers up to Rs 2 lakh per eligible family per year.
“I appreciate the health insurance scheme. If not many, some people have reaped the benefit,” the auto-rickshaw driver said.
There has always been a divide between Meitei-majority Imphal Valley and tribal-majority hills.
Jamuna Devi of Moirang was effusive in her praise of the N Biren Singh government for its efforts to bridge the gap with the “Go To Hills” initiative. She also praised the BJP for providing rice to the poor at Rs 3 a kg.
Meanwhile, although the polls are round the corner, there is hardly any campaigning. The only signs of the polls are the posters of political parties, particularly BJP and Congress, put up here and there. The ordinary people are visibly least bothered about who will come to power.
“I don’t care if the BJP will retain or lose power. Every political party is the same. They will make tall promises but forget everything when in power,” Ksh Ronny said after a bite on an eggroll at a roadside eatery at Nambol.