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| wise words ::. | | What is the difference between genius and stupidity? Genius has limits. - Albert Einstein. |
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| editorial. | 25/09/02 |
Politicising employment generation
When taxis were first introduced in Aizawl, the main idea behind it was to generate employment for the educated unemployed. Because of the government's insistance, banks and other financial institutions readily made funds available for the purchase of these vehicles. However, as the years rolled on, the idea of generation of employment for the educated unemployed was neglected and politicising of taxi permits became the norm for political parties in power.
As a result, wealthy people invested their money in the transport business, pushing the needy to the back. What the state capital now has is an influx of taxis owned, not by those in need, but by people who are already employed or if not, are not in need of employment because of their sound financial status.
In a way, these taxis are indeed generating employment. Through them, drivers are able to earn livelihoods, enabling them to raise a family or augment their family's income. However, the generation of jobs for drivers was not the spirit in which taxi permits were first given out. In the city, if ten percent of taxi drivers are the owners, it would be a happy thought.
When push comes to shove, it is always the political class that corrupts the people. In order to achieve their ends, political parties in most cases do not give a thought to the means employed. The end, for them, always justifies the means.
The question of whether the educated unemployed would really benefit from their demand of auto rickshaw permits is a debatable issue in view of what happened to the taxi permits. It is a certainty that as soon as auto rickshaw permits are issued, the majority of them would end up as party workers' reward. Hence, while the idea behind the issuance of auto rickshaws may be laudable, the question of whether the permits would end up where intended will always lurk in the mind.
The educated unemployed group which have demanded the issuance of auto rickshaw permits in the city would do well to provide safeguards first to see that these permits do not end up in other hands before taking any further steps.
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