Draws Council’s attention to State’s specific issues
Kohima, October 10 (MExN): The Governor of Nagaland, Prof Jagdish Mukhi today stated that Nagaland is facing acute power deficit while educated unemployed youth are facing the problem of employability.
These were among the Nagaland-specific issues the Governor highlighted at the 70th Plenary of the Northeast Council (NEC) in Guwahati on October 9.
Regarding the power sector, he informed that the State generates only 26 MW against the peak requirement of around 115 MW.
The State Government has submitted a proposal to the Council for “Construction of 2.4MW Duilumroi HEP at Peren district” for gap funding and the NEC is requested to consider for sanction of the project, he said.
Power is critical for industrialisation, technological advancements and overall economic development and the Council should include it in the thrust areas, he maintained.
Prof Mukhi further shared at the meeting that Nagaland is struggling with the problem of employability of the educated unemployed youth.
Youth of today have high aspirations and expectations and when these aspirations are not met, frustration sets in and they are easily misled to take to crime and anti-national activities, he said.
Accordingly, asserting that most NE states are confronted such problems, he said that the youth must be provided with opportunities to lead productive lives to usher in peace and development in the region.
Capacity building and skill development in the region can give gainful employment to large number of educated unemployed youth in various fields, he added.
Among the skills he listed out were tourism and hospitality, aviation, nursing, para -medics, wellness industry, music and entertainment, IT and the BPOs, sports, therapists, and specialiszed skills in automobile sector and in the construction sector.
Meanwhile, Prof Mukhi informed that various Naga tribes have their own rich costumes, patterns and crafts while basketry, using bamboo and cane are integral part of Naga activity.
To this end, he noted Nagaland has immense potential to export readymade apparel, handlooms, handicrafts and textile products to South-east Asian countries and called for harnessing these skills
“NEC may therefore give due emphasis for development of loin-loom production of the NE States as a promotion of traditional industry,” he suggested.
As an agrarian state, the future of the Nagaland lies in exploiting the opportunities in agriculture and allied activities, the Governor said.
Commercial crops like coffee and rubber needs to be given a big push while horticulture is another area where the State has immense potential, he informed.
Crops like orange, kiwi, passion fruit, cucumbers and pineapples are suited for the soil while spices like ginger, turmeric and Naga King chilly are grown in abundance, he said, batting for value addition and organic certification to fetch good prices.
Prof Mukhi also noted that the State is struggling with poor internet connectivity and urged the NEC is to intervene in providing infrastructure for high speed internet connectivity upto the village level in the entire region.
Sharing about the Nagaland Start-up Policy aimed at establishing the State as a “model startup leader in the region” by creating a culture of entrepreneurship and facilitating growth of at least 500 start-ups in the next five years with focus on “Made in Nagaland,” he called for the NEC’s intervention in establishing an Innovation hub that can house all the startups under one roof, on PPP mode.
Further maintaining that coaching plays a vital role for candidates in clearing competitive exams and most civil service aspirants from Nagaland cannot afford to go to New Delhi, Prof Mukhi urged the NEC to come forward by tying up with a reputed coaching institute for providing online coaching classes at subsidised rates.
He also requested the NEC to include sports as one of its thrust areas and said that apart from creating sporting infrastructure, opportunities for developing the skills and providing exposure to young people at the National and International levels need to be created.
It will be very good if NEC could organise junior level inter-state football tournament in line with Senior Level Dr T Ao North East Football Tournament to provide necessary platform and exposure for young talents, he added.
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