{"id":217409,"date":"2020-05-25T13:56:50","date_gmt":"2020-05-25T13:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/151.106.38.4\/2020\/05\/25\/finding-solace-in-one-s-homeland\/"},"modified":"2020-05-25T13:56:50","modified_gmt":"2020-05-25T13:56:50","slug":"finding-solace-in-one-s-homeland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/2020\/05\/25\/finding-solace-in-one-s-homeland\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding solace in one\u2019s homeland"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

 On the evening of May 22, as I watched the live streaming of the special train carrying the stranded persons pulled in at Dimapur railway station, my heart ached and went out to those who were inside the train and eagerly waiting to touch upon Nagaland soil.<\/p>\n

The second train from Gurugram, Haryana carrying the stranded returnees touched on Nagaland soil on May 25. Many more will be returning home and not just students but those who have lost their jobs and homeless as they can no longer pay house rent in the metro cities. Perhaps in the minds of the returnees they must be filled with hope to find solace in their own homeland.<\/div>\n
One cannot help but think of the mental trauma and physical stress they must have endured during the days, where some of them had no place to stay but to live on the streets for a few days. It is very unfortunate that innocent children were also among the returnees, least aware of COVID-19 or even the stress that the parents must have gone through. When COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe and when Modi announced the nationwide lockdown, our state was still lacking in the basic medical infrastructures. Very hurriedly the state has acquired the BSL-3 labs at Dimapur and Kohima and of course, some of the ventilators along with other equipments. However, our hospitals (especially in other districts apart from Kohima and Dimapur) really need to be revamped and capacitated with hi-tech medical equipments. <\/div>\n
The government need to infuse the flow of necessary funds continuously and visibly and not only when challenged by desperate circumstances. It must show its commitment in providing healthcare to its citizens not just during a crisis but every day. It needs to have the moral duty to ensure that healthcare is available and accessible to every citizen. <\/div>\n
The current pandemic is proof that there is no substitute for publicly provided healthcare. This is a real nightmare happening and the government must start utilising the various departmental funds provided by central government for the real purpose. Had there not been a pandemic, God knows when the government would have revamped district hospitals. In the past, the funds have not been utilised properly for building up Nagaland as it would turn into personal largesse and mansions.<\/div>\n
Apart from health and education sectors, the farming sector also needs to be properly monitored. It is true that efforts are being made during the COVID-19 scare to encourage farmers to till the land for sustaining the state economy. One must not forget that when tractors and other agricultural tools and implements are brought to the state, it should go to the real farmers and not those so called “progressive” farmers with acres of land in town areas. This must be done if farmers in the rural areas are to really concentrate on farming with the right tools and implements. Meanwhile, government should also concentrate on starting up small scale industries (under government sector) to produce essentials like masks, sanitiser, PPE and other products for Nagaland public to purchase instead of importing these from outside all the time. The current situation has proved that if proper industries are set up, Naga people can do the labour as they are talented in many ways. Let us stop promoting useless activities that drain the state coffer, but rather start replenishing and multiplying the exchequer. Jobs must also be given to the most deserving and suited to the task (in the industries which the Nagaland government will set up shortly) rather than through political backing at all times. <\/div>\n
UN chief Antonio Guterres said that despite great scientific and technological advances in recent decades, a virus had brought us to our knees is completely true. The pandemic is a wake-up call for our state and the government as it has the potential to cause untold damage and loss, while on a positive note it can serve for greater good if the government and people wake up from self-induced slumber.<\/div>\n
The pandemic has crossed borders and cultures indiscriminately, affecting people’s lives regardless of their race or religion and while the global crisis has caused anxiety and suffering, it has also inspired moments of interfaith unity – with believers, from world leaders to medical workers, connecting across religious divides in a sign of solidarity. <\/div>\n
With the three declared positive cases of COVID-19 in Nagaland, let us come together to support those who need empathy at this time and not post inflammatory messages online with the primary intent of provoking people. We must get serious and use our time to do some actual good, one of which is praying. <\/div>\n
Let us keep praying for the health and safety of our loved ones as well as your personal wellbeing, protection and resilience for the frontline workers caring for people infected with the virus, divine guidance and wisdom for our leaders as they lead us through this challenging time. Let us not forget those that are quarantined as we can imagine the anxiety they must have now that cases have been reported in our state. <\/div>\n
Benthunglo K Lotha, <\/div>\n
Kohima<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finding solace in one\u2019s homeland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-217409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217409\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}