Dear Editor,
This is regarding shifting our state capital to another part of Arunachal Pradesh.
The capital is reeling under immense traffic congestion due to the ever increasing demographic pressure as well as the exponential increase in the number of vehicles every passing day, thereby causing horrific traffic scenes at multiple places.
The geographical location of our state is such that infrastructural development incurs huge financial investment due to its rugged hilly terrain. In addition to this, the monsoon session wreaks havoc by plundering properties and assets and causing losses of human lives.
The twin capital cities of our state is now overcrowded, overpopulated and, most important, gridlocked, which curtails the booming economy of our state.
Traffic congestion has given birth to frequent road accidents; hostile and unfriendly drivers yearning to race against time has resulted in the loss of lives and also witnessed sporadic skirmishes with the dutiful traffic wardens at multiple junctions.
The economic losses from this horrific traffic have hit hard both the formal and informal sectors, as their businesses run with time and according to time. The narrow and pathetic roads are the twin problem which has prevented the smooth movement of vehicles. Rampant illegal earth-cutting at several locations notwithstanding, repeated notice and warnings issued by the commissioner concerned have also doubled the problem manifold.
The recent announcement made by the Indonesian president Jokowi after winning the election for the second term to move the country’s capital from Jakarta to a new location on the Kalimantan Island has given us hope of emulating his ideas and putting them into practice by considering the shifting of our capital to a new site in our state.
Shifting of the state capital to another part of the state would not dampen the growth and development of the twin capital; rather it will help in decongesting the traffic and reduce the demographic burden.
This initiative will create more jobs, which can absorb the surplus labour in the rural areas and bring in lucrative prospects for the rural youths. It will also prevent migration of rural people seeking jobs and livelihood in the twin capital, and thereby ease the escalation of human settlement conflict and confrontations to a great extent.
In a nutshell, if proper research is done regarding the viability and feasibility of shifting the capital to another part of the state, it will promote inclusive growth and witness socioeconomic development in our state.
Sincerely,
Joram Nuku, Jully