No power, no school building, no health centre adorns Touthang Bungmol Village at Indo-Myanmar border
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Gyanand Naorem

Kakching, December 05 2014 : Despite all assurances of electrifying the villages in hill areas and of providing healthcare facilities to remote villages, Touthang Bungmol (Y-Bungmol) village located around 25 kms south west of Moreh town in Tengnoupal assembly constituency in Chandel district is still lying bereft of electricity connection, school building and any functional health centre.

The Primary Health Sub-centre at Touthang-Bungmol (T Bungmol) village lying at Indo-Myanmar border in Tengnoupal Assembly Constituency in Chandel district has remaining unattended for the last 10 years since the Kuchha structure of the PHSC was swept away by cyclone a decade back.

The border village T Bungmol is inhabited by around 250 people of Kuki community with 40 households.

People of the village who have long been protecting the state's border at this village since 1964, have remained cut-off from the health care facilities being provided by the government under the National Rural Health Mission due to non-functioning of the Primary Health Sub-Centre at the village.

The villagers have to go to Moreh or the neighbouring Tammu town in Myanmar to avail their medical needs.

An unfinished building in Touthang Bungmol (Y-Bungmol) village

On being enquired, the Chief Medical Officer of Chandel district Dr Nongmaithem Birachandra stated that efforts are being made to ensure functioning of health facilities in the nook and corner of the district under the guidance of Director of Health Services Dr Ibomcha who is also the Mission Director of National Health Mission, Manipur.

Dr Birachandra, who has been posted recently as CMO of Chandel District also admitted that the villagers of T Bungmol are facing difficulties in getting healthcare services and a team of health department has also visited the village recently.

The CMO assured this Daily that the matter would be put up to the higher authority for construction of the required PHSC building at the village.

The main occupations of T Bungmol villagers are pineapple cultivation, farming and wood cutting.

They used to earn their living by selling crops and pineapples at Moreh and Tammu in Myanmar.

Even though the Border Road Task Force (BRTF) started repairing of the road leading to the village through T Minou and B Sareng villages four years back, only around 15 kms has been covered till now.

The remaining 10 kms stretch of the road lying through the jungles is still inaccessible except on Saktiman Trucks.

During rainy season, the villagers are facing lots of inconveniences to transport their cultivated products to Moreh.

Hence, they used to sell their products at Tammu by going about 15 kms.

According to the villagers, selling of their products at Tammu accrues more profit, besides getting better transport facility.

Almost all families in the village own two-wheeled carriages which are widely used in Myanmar for transportation to Tammu town.

The MGNREGS scheme which provides jobs to 40 individuals of the village is also serving as an earning avenue for the villagers.

Even though the Touthang-Bungmol village has a Primary school under the ADC Chandel, the village students studying KG to class V numbering about 50 attend classes at the Community Hall constructed under the DRDA.

In 2013, a contractor from Moreh began construction of a school building at the village, but it has remained without a roof till today.

According to the village chief Hempao Touthang, the said contractor never came back after withdrawal of the bill. Even after 50 years of establishment, the village does not have electricity connection, as the villagers are using solar plates and battery for power.

While demanding completion of the construction of the school building, the villagers drew the attention of the concerned authority to provide health care facilities, to repair the roads leading to the village and also to avail of electricity connection to the border village.