A date with the sentinels of Western Gate of Manipur
Redefining Yaoshang Hueiyen-iStyle
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, April 04 2013: The stark contrast over the condition of roads in the capital city Imphal and the pathetic power supply that the denizens have to endure here to that of the road network connecting every remote village in Jiribam sub-division of Imphal East district as well as round the clock power supply being enjoyed by the people there could not be missed by any new visitors.

The roads are tarred properly upto the gate of the last house of any village and all the houses are seen lighted with electricity throughout the day.

Nonetheless, people in remote areas of Jiribam do have certain genuine complaints with regard to absence of other basic necessities of life, particularly education and health care facilities.

In continuation of its Hueiyen-Reach-Out trip during Yaoshang festival, Team Hueiyen had the privilege of visiting some of the remote border villages of Jiribam sub-division and interacts with the miniscule Manipuri population settling there to protect the boundary of the State against all odds.

Uninterrupted influx of outsiders may have reduced the native people to the status of minority in their own land, but their spirit of fighting back for their rights in spite of the numerous hardships being faced is worth emulating.

Lamdai Lamtai khunnou in Jiribam sub-division

Among the remote border villages of Jiribam sub-division which the Team Hueiyen had visited, Borobekra and Lamdai Khunou are located along the edges of meandering Barak River that acts as dividing boundary line between Manipur and Assam and shared the same problem of lack of adequate facilities for education and health care.

The lone high school at Borobekra which comes under the Barak circle of Jiribam may have been upgraded to the status of a higher secondary school since the last academic session, but shortage of infrastructure and teachers continue to plague the functioning of the school.

As far as we could remember, in first week of July, 2012, ADC Jiribam had issued a selection list of candidates who have applied for appointment as lecturers and Laboratory Assistants in the newly upgraded Borobekra Higher Secondary School.

But local people disclosed that none of the selected lecturers and laboratory attendants has been attending to their duties regularly as expected after they submitted the joining reports.

Talking to the visiting Team Hueiyen members, one of the teachers, a local man, who does not want to be named, informed that in the absence of teachers and necessary infrastructures, the number of student enrolled in Borobekra Higher Secondary School has come down drastically over the last few years.

At present, there are just around 100 students in the school as most of them have shifted to other schools.

The local teacher in question was particularly averse to posting of teachers and other staffs from Imphal and other far off places, as they hardly stay for long mainly from their inability to adjust to the new environment.

The education scenario is even far worse in Lamdai Khunou where the existing primary school, the only educational institution in the village, stands more like a cow-shed with walls made of bamboo-mats crumbling down.

The members of a Manipuri family living in the last house of Lamdai Khunou, where the Team Hueiyen was offered home-grown betel nuts and leaves to chew after a hard day-long journey, pointed out that the lone primary school in the village has stopped functioning for the last two years as no new teachers have been posted after the earlier ones have been either transferred or retired from service.

"With the primary school in our village remaining shut down, we are really worried about the future of our children.

For the bigger ones, it may not be such a big problem, because they can go to other far off schools for study.

But for the little kids, how can we send them to schools far away from our village?", the concerned mother of the family questioned.

The near absence of health care facilities is another difficulty that the people of Lamdai Khunou have been countering.

The Team Hueiyen was apprised that the only primary health centre in the village is being run with only two local nurses and no doctor has been ever posted there.

Regardless of the hard life they have been leading, around 45 Manipuri families living in Lamdai Khunou continue to stand firm when it comes to protecting the identity of the Manipuris and safeguarding the boundary of Manipur.

"With the population of non-locals outnumbering the native Manipuris, they have even given the name of Durgapur to our village.

But somehow we have managed to rename it as Lamdai Khunou", one of the senior Manipuris in the village said.

Interestingly, on the signboard erected at the outskirt of the village, 'Lamdai Khunou' could be seen written in small letter just below 'Durgapur' in big bold letter.