No electricity, no road connectivity, boat trip the sole means of communication
Jiri hamlet caught in a time warp, no change since '64
Source: The Sangai Express / Jacob Panmei

Jiri, May 18 2011: Boroikhal is a village in Jiribam sub-division, Imphal East district which is in the news today for all the wrong reasons-long years of negligence.

The said village is about 15-kilometre away from the sub-divisional headquarters comprising of 13 houses with a total of 60 people, who have been surviving only on the gifts of nature ever since the village was established in the year 1964 .

During the course of a survey it came to light that the village has no road connectivity, electricity provision in addition to every flag-ship programme of the Government practically reduced to a mockery for the poor and ignorant villagers whose only source of sustenance is cultivation.

In the absence of road transport, boat ride is the only means of conveyance, that too at a heavy price for ferrying people and goods over the Jiri river to reach Jiri town for marketing cost an individual not less than Rs 200 per trip.

Moreover, the journey by boat is tiresome for it takes nearly five hours to cover the said distance.

A ramshackle structure passes off as the lone primary school in this Jiri village

Non presence of school is another bane for the villagers with school-going children compelled to stay away from home in order to get basic education, which consequently drains the parents' hard earned money as they have to stay put at rented quarters in Jiribam.

At the time of the survey, an abandoned Government Lower Primary School could be sighted lying in shambles.

It is informed that the two teachers assigned at the village have not seen the school while three individuals have been posted as employees of a non-existent Sub-Post Office in the village.

Talking to this correspondent, a local resident identified as Th Modon rued that Boroikhal villagers are still living in the stone age for nothing has changed in their lives as the Government has even failed to acknowledge their existence, forget about benefits from schemes meant for the poor and deprived.

Phanjoubam Kainatombi, an elderly woman of the village, fumed that the ignorant villagers of Boroikhal are counted as citizens only during elections and nothing concrete has been done for the welfare of the villagers.

Informing that no MLA or Minister had ever shown up at the village, she expressed strong desire to see 'her MLA' at least once as she had been giving her priceless vote to the incumbent.

kainatombi also wondered as to whether any other place in this era would be more backward than Boroikhal.

Founder of Boroikhal village Hamom Koireng, whom this correspondent met, lamented that the villagers have been surviving without any aid from the Government.

He also contended that MGNREGS, which is supposed to be implemented in the village has turned out to be a cruel joke as the villagers were issued job cards but till date there is neither work nor any of the incentives associated with the programme.

"The villagers of Boroikhal have lost faith on the Government completely due to its apathy," added Koireng.