SIKKIMNOMICS STATE OF AFFAIRS

By Prithviraj: Increase in price of petroleum,essential commodities,taxi fares or simply put economics hardly finds any substantial analysis in any of the state dailies,weeklies or monthly journals.It is widely known that a small increase in onion price led to the wipe out of a ruling party in power few years back in one of the state of the nation.Ironically these issues simply fail to find any adequate place in our menu of discussions or analysis.Are we the those who do not understand and interpret or are we still naive enough to happily accept the monotony of tyranny and exploitation.

The budget session of our Assembly is usually short. Constitutional platform for discussion finds no flavor for constructive criticism but merely performs an addictive function of introduction, passage and allocation of piecemeal legislation and financial transactions that are understood ,accepted and implemented by handful of experts  who adhere to the ideology of making Sikkim another Switzerland and Singapore. For past many years issues concerning people, that hurts them most, has been virtually swept under carpet. Everyone complains of exorbitant price increase but few take courage to register protest. A state where politics seems to hold its way, Economics seems to be put on back burner. Depending on shoe string budget made lighter by burgeoning prices the pinch seems to be getting bitter everyday. A kilogram of mangoes for Rs 90 at regulated market in Siliguri, becomes Rs160 at our local stalls.That means on an average of 10,00000 generalized consumers throughout State even when 500000 people decide to enjoy at least one Kilogram of delicious mangoes a day the whopping profit, for no one knows who, accumulates to RS 35,000000.Rest of so many other necessities assure that  trade in Sikkim leaves no stone unturned at all! Silently all bear the ineptness of administrative apathy. People are held hostage and there seems to be very little logic when some make hay while the sun shines. The norm of order in Sikkim enjoys dancing to the tunes of the wealthy banging on  the battered bones of  poor. Inflation out of control, no doubt seems to be hurting all pockets leaving aside the big and baggy rich pockets. The poor seem to find no reprieve and are forever caught in the vicious circle of poverty. Doling out freebies that are guided by political considerations have become the order of the day. Economics seems to matter little in guiding the state policies and price has remained a Non Issue.The growing inequalities that seem to be widening everyday between the rich and the poor point to a looming crisis in future that might be too hard to handle.So we either wake to act or decide to accept.