Residents Rue Lack of Basic Amenities, Flay Administration

DIPHU: People residing in several villages including Mokoi-ram, Arting, Lang Erdang, Rupai and the adjoining places within Assam along the Meghalaya boundary have expressed their dissatisfaction at the poor state of roads and lack of basic amenities. Pointing out that they had been “residing in the area for more than 100 years”, they said, “till date there is no blacktopped road and it is difficult for us to travel from one place to another due to the pitiable road condition”. Besides, illegal timber business and similar other activities by mafia continue unabated in the hill district of West Karbi Anglong, they alleged.

The villagers dwelling on the border area expressed their woes before a group of journalists who visited the places recently. The two-day tour to Saitsema, Khanduli and Langkeroi along the inter-state boundary region was organized by the District Press Club of Karbi Anglong.

The masses of the border area further complained, “We have little hope in the leaders as we have seen in the past that they visit us only during election time and once election is over, they forget us. We don’t have basic services like proper road, safe drinking water and electricity.”

They added that though they had urged the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) a number of times seeking steps for development of the area yet there has been no progress in this regard.

“We are leading a very hard life here. Is the authority at all concerned or are they least bothered since we’re fringe dwellers?” they posed. They further alleged that “due to the lack of development in the area and the negligence of the authority concerned in Assam, the Government of Meghalaya has taken advantage of the situation and was encroaching upon land belonging to West Karbi Anglong”. They also appealed to the authority in Assam to deal with the situation before it is too late. The villagers pointed out that people from the Jaintia Hills district in Meghalaya have encroached upon lands belonging to Assam.

The West Karbi Anglong district administration recently demolished a border pillar which was allegedly erected by the Meghalaya government on Assam land. The pillar was set up on a location that is under Khanduli border outpost in West Karbi Anglong district. However, a team of police and civil administration led by the Deputy Commissioner of West Karbi Anglong, Debajyoti Hazarika, and the Superintendent of Police, Mrinal Talukder, demolished the pillar.

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