In mid‑May 2026, Dimapur’s municipal politics splintered and shifted out of the city it is meant to govern: dissenting NPF councillors moved to a resort in Guwahati while the Chairperson’s supporters stayed in a hotel in Chümoukedima, filing a no‑confidence motion and counter notices. While this internal showdown unfolded, Nagaland Chief Secretary Sentiyanger Imchen toured Dimapur on Monday (May 18, 2026) and found municipal services in visible disrepair, prompting orders and public concern that reached beyond party lines.
The councillors’ exodus, which began in the second week of May (May 8–14, 2026), produced extensive political paperwork but little attention to day‑to‑day governance. Imchen inspected Nagarjan Police Point, Vilhume, S.M. Colony, the Burma Camp area near Narkul Turning, and the DMC dumping site at Sunrise Colony. He documented drains choked with plastic waste, encroachments along drainage channels, garbage trucks too poorly maintained to collect refuse, and a dumping ground approaching saturation because biodegradable and non‑biodegradable waste were not being segregated.
Responding to what he described as unacceptable municipal neglect, Imchen directed that strainers be installed in upstream nalas and urged immediate household‑level segregation of waste. He expressed dissatisfaction with the state of municipal services and said the government “would issue orders shortly,” signalling administrative intervention if local systems did not improve.
On Wednesday (May 20, 2026) the councillors returned to Dimapur and issued a joint statement announcing unconditional reconciliation, praising the Chief Minister’s “visionary leadership,” and reaffirming commitments to good governance, accountability and transparency. A floor test that had been scheduled for May 22, 2026 was cancelled; the political crisis, by the council’s account, was over.
But the problems Imchen recorded did not appear overnight, nor will they be solved by a statement. Blocked drains, neglected vehicles and an overflowing dump are symptoms of long‑term administrative failure in a city whose elected council exists to prevent precisely these outcomes. The no‑confidence motion posed a question about the Chairperson’s standing with councillors; the Chief Secretary’s inspection asked, without saying so, whether the Dimapur Municipal Council still commands the city’s confidence. The councillors have reconciled and returned to work — the drains are still there, waiting.
Original Source: https://www.morungexpress.com/while-they-were-away
Category: Editorial
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Publish Date: 2026-05-21 20:30:00
