UCM seeks white paper on projects in hill districts
Source: Chronicle News Service / Sagolsem Bigyan
Imphal, October 14 2021:
United Committee Manipur (UCM) president Joychandra Konthoujam has urged state government to produce a white paper on projects taken up in hill areas of the state as development condition in interior areas of hills remains grim despite the claim of the government taking up numerous projects in the past many years.
A team of UCM inspected disputed Border Pillar No.82 and 83 a few days back.
The UCM team also interacted with villagers settling along Indo-Myanmar border and got firsthand accounts of the difficulties faced by the border villagers.
Most of the people in border villages depended on Myanmar for survival including movement for medical emergency as roads on the Manipur side remain extremely bad.
Apart from this, border villagers do not get proper medical facility while many of them have to remain confined in their respective homes for months due to bad road.
The UCM team faced immense difficulties in going from one village to another and even rode on excavator (JCB) to reach villages.
Regarding the visit, UCM president Joychandra Konthoujam said that the governments of India and Manipur claimed to have taken up numerous development projects in interior areas of hills but development seems to be hollow still and remain meaningless.
It is sad to hear from hill people that development fund does not reach hills and majority of government fund are invested in valley or development fund meant for hills siphoned off by few valley people, he said, adding that development fund released by government for the hills does not reach the intended target thereby worrying many hill people.
In order to prevent this, government must bring out a white paper so as to ascertain whether development fund reach hills or not, he said and urged government to take up necessary steps to ensure that development fund reaches intended target in the hills.
Regarding present position of BP 82, Nongkam Satang Village Authority chairman TK Kothil told media persons that the village was established in 1952 as a protector of Indo-Myanmar border and the village now has around 50 households and 200 people.
The village has many elderly people eligible for old age pension scheme of the government but-none of them are availing the benefit so far while DC Tengnoupal and SDO concerned do not initiate any step to provide health cards to eligible families, he lamented.
While informing media persons about difficulties faced by villagers in accessing medical treatment due to bad road as also the namesake water supply scheme under Jal Jivan Mission constructed in the village, TK Kothil said that both India and Manipur governments seem to have forgotten that villagers settling along Indo-Myanmar border are also citizens of the country.