60 Yrs after R-Day villagers at border areas live in pain
Source: The Sangai Express

CHALOU (Indo-Myanmar border), January 31 2009: Even after 60 years of Republic, villagers residing in the Manipur sector of the Indo-Myanmar border have been practically surviving all these years without any assistance from the side of the Government.

Though these villages have lots of potential for development of border trade activities, the same has not yet been tapped properly.

During the course of a recent tour of these villages located along the International border in Churachandpur, Chandel and Ukhrul district, it came to light that the benefits of the various developmental schemes being taken up by the Government with exception to National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and Border Area Development Programme (BADP) have ever reached the villagers all these years.

Villagers from Myanmar coming ot Behiang to sell charcoal

Most of the roads in these border villages have been constructed under the BADP after the forests were cleared by the villagers themselves and efforts made to improve the same under Prime Minister Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the condition of most of the roads is still so bad that it is practically impossible to ply vehicles during rainy season.

In such a situation, the villagers settling along the 350 km long International boundary have stocking up ration procured from the sub-divisional headquarters or the district headquarters before the onset of every rainy season.

It is also at these sub-divisional and district headquarters that the villagers have been sending their children for education in the absence of any educational facilities in the border area.

Interestingly, the relationship between the villagers settling on either side of the International boundary is so cordial they participate in any social gathering and form marriage alliance with scant regard of belonging to two different countries.

They also indulge in trading activities of the goods produced in their respective villages.

The rice produced from a Kuki village in Myanmar have ready market among the Tangkhuls of Ukhrul and the currency of the both the countries are applicable in trade.

It is said that before the incident of Naga-Kuki clashes, the offices of the SIB, Customs, Police, BSF, SDC, Immigration, etc, were in operation at Behiang village located along the border in Churachandpur district to help in trading activities.

The scope for border trade in this remote village still exist today but there is no taker.

According to chief of Molcham village, not just in Behiang, but also in other villagers, border trade at the village level has been always in vogue since time immemorial and it can be developed all the more if the condition of the roads could be improved.

In the domain of education, the facilities available in most of the border villages is only upto the primary level.

As one has to go either to the sub-divisional headquarters or the district headquarters for higher studies, the rate of drop out among the students is very high with some villages recording as high as 70 percent.

After giving up their studies, most of the students started engaging in making charcoal or taking up odd jobs for sustenance.

They also get into wedlock very early in life.

Electricity connectivity in all the villages of Manipur along with the border with Myanmar is still a distant dream.

Installation of electric poles and wiring can be seen upto Waksu village in Tengnoupal sub-division of Chandel district, but there is no electricity in this village.

Inspite of that, ex-chief of the village DL Modun informed that the Power Department has been collecting power tariff from the villagers.

It is learnt that some of the well to do villagers in Molcham which is located next to Bokan village of Myanmar could light up their houses with electricity by paying Rs 35 for charging the batteries of their inverters from Bokan for one week.

In case of health and sanitation, frequent outbreak of Malaria and Typhoid has been the biggest problem that the people in the border villages of Churachandpur, Chandel and Ukhrul have been facing all these years.

As there is no facility for BCG and DPT, cases of TB among the children has been on the rise with atleast two to three children suffering from the scourge in every village.

Spread of HIV/AIDS is another problem that has reared its head of late among the villagers in these border area.

But there is no sign of any awareness programme being conducted in this regard even absence of health care centre in most of the villages seems like a norm rather than an exception.

Villagers in border area of Chandel have been going to the hospitals at Myanmar for treatment and those from Ukhrul district either at the district headquarters or the sub-divisional headquarters.

At the border village of Behiang in Churachandpur, there is properly constructed hospital and quarters, but no doctors and staff to look after the need of the patients.

With lack of idea on sanitary latrine, there is open latrine system in most of the border villages.

There are also villages which do not have any latrine at all.

The benefits of the Public Distribution System (PDS) is something that is still alien to most of the villagers in the border area.

Fair Price Shops are non-existent.

All the essential commodities and other daily requirements are being managed by the villagers themselves or procured the same from neighbouring border villages of Myanmar.

A common household kitchen item like salt is such a precious thing in the transport bottleneck Molcham village that the villagers have been buying a package of Indian manufactured salt which cost just Rs 9 at Rs 15 from Myanmar.

Among the developmental projects and schemes being taken up by the Government, NREGS and BADP are the only whose benefits that the villagers are benefited either directly or indirectly.

Community hall, roads, workshed, etc have been constructed under BADP in most of the villages and development of roads and agro-farming activities have been taken up under the NREGS.

Lack of transport and communication facility is another problem that has been compounding to the difficulties of the villagers living in the border areas of Manipur.

Delivery of letter through hand post has been most reliable form of communication system that the villagers has been depending all these years as the service of the post office is almost defunct with villagers complaining against receiving letters send through postal service altogether after two months.

There is no telephone facilities and not more than 2/3 radio sets in all these villages.

To solve the problem of fetching drinking water from far off places, the villagers wished connection of water pipeline from the water sources to their respective villages.

The problem water is such that the post of 10 JK Light Infantry at Yangoulen has been employing three persons paying Rs 3000 each every month just for fetching water.

Majority of the villagers whom this reporter interacted during the course of the tour felt that improvement of the existing road communication system is their immediate requirement even as womenfolk demanded setting up of rice mill in all the villages.