CM vows super speciality facilities in four hill districts
Japan War Museum, wild life sanctuary for Jessami on the card
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIPR / Lester Mamang

Imphal/Ukhrul, January 19 2023: The picturesque Jessami village located about 117 km north of Ukhrul town and bordering Nagaland was literally abuzz with excitement as chief minister N Biren Singh made his maiden visit to the village on Thursday.

The chief minister accompanied by Transport minister Khashim Vashum, Social Welfare minister H Dingo Singh and MLA Thangjam Arun was accorded a rousing reception by the villagers all clad in traditional attires as he alighted from the chopper that landed at the village helipad.

They were given a traditional guard of honour by the enthusiastic villagers.

Just as his maiden visit did, CM Biren unmistakably brought loud cheers to the people of the village by announcing a slew of developmental projects for the area.

CM Biren visited Jessami to attend as chief guest of the inaugural ceremony of the three-day Tekru-Nge celebration, along with Khashim Vashum and H Dingo Singh who were the functional president and guest of honour respectively.

The festival, themed "Walking through the Diversity and Richness of Jessami", is the grandest festival of Jessami village, and will run till January 21.Speaking on the occasion, Biren noted that Jessami village is a culturally rich village and is an important, strategically located village in view of its proximity to neighbouring Nagaland.

Amid thunderous applause, he announced that a new museum dedicated to Battle of Jessami (World War II) will be set up in the village itself at the earliest.

He made the announcement after inspecting a myriad of war artefacts pertaining to the battle that took place in the village in March, 1944, that were put on display at the festival venue.

The Chief Minister also announced a number of development projects.

He said that the state government has decided to build super specialty health-care facilities/infrastructures in the four hill districts of Senapati, Ukhrul, Tamenglong, and Chan del as soon as possible so that patients from remote villages do not have to travel to Imphal or other cities for treatment.

Currently, despite shortage of experts in the hill regions, treatments for conditions requiring specialists are delivered through Tele-ICU in the hill district hospitals, he explained.

"A total of 300 specialists have been recruited recently and we are trying to recruit more specialist doctors in the coming days, depending on the requirements," Biren said.

The CM also assured that a wildlife sanctuary will be set up in the village, in view of the preservation of a forest by the village which is home to many wildlife species including the endangered 'Nongyin' bird.

He then proposed that a festival in honour of Nongyin found in Jessami will be made a component of the forthcoming state-level Sangai festival.

He requested the villagers to submit a report to the DC with proper geo-tagging and mapping for the creation of the proposed wildlife sanctuary in the village.

The CM also highlighted the developmental changes witnessed in the state, stating that this was made possible with the support and cooperation of the people.

Peace in the state has brought development, he added.

He said that administration needs to be decentralised or bifurcated in order to reach out to people in all remote corners and bring overall development in the state.

The chief minister appreciated the establishment of the Heritage Park at Makhel, emphasising on the brotherly relationship of the communities and the oneness of the people of the state.

"Today, history has repeated itself, and the people have been unified again," he said, urging everyone not to distort history.

On the main vision for launching the 'Go To Hills' and 'Go To Village' programmes, the chief minister said that it was to identify the needs of villages in the state's interior.

He stated that following the launch of these programmes in the previous term, the government has been able to identify lack of infrastructure in the interior areas, including roads, schools, offices, and health facilities.

Unfortunately in the last term, the government did not get much time to work for the people as the COVID pandemic wasted around two-and-half years out of the total five-year term.

Fortunately, during that short period in the last term and with the Prime Minister's guidance, who assured budgetary support to the Minority and Other Backward Classes Department, around Rs 1200 crore was invested in projects in the hill districts through the department, Biren conveyed, while highlighting the inauguration of Model Residential School, LM Block, Ukhrul District and Women's Market in the hill districts.

Similar Model Residential Schools are being constructed at seven places along with Sadbhavna Mandaps, Women Markets, Oxygen Plants, transit accommodations, etc., in the hill districts, he further stated.

The CM also said that the PM has asked all Chief Ministers to convey his gratitude to the people for their support and cooperation, and to express that it was due to the public support that India is where it is today.

He then asked the Deputy Commissioner to judiciously utilise the infrastructures inaugurated on Thursday so that the public may reap the benefits of the new infrastructures.

The CM then assured office buildings of Additional SP, ADC at the earliest and to further look into the memorandum submitted by the people including making the SBI branch operational to ease monetary transaction.

In his speech, Minister Khashim Vashum acknowledged the concern of CM Biren and what he had done for the people, including the Ukhrul denizens.

"This is the chief minister who upgraded SDO office of Jessami to the present full-fledged SDC back in 2017," he lauded Biren, adding that CM's visit to Jessami is part of his government's commitment to reach out to the people living in the most remote and difficult areas of the state and provide them with the necessary infrastructure and facilities for a better quality of life.

Khashim also conveyed his gratitude to the district administration and all departments in the district for the smooth administration and maintenance of law and order for overall progress and tranquillity.

Later, the CM dedicated the Model Residential School, LM Block, Ukhrul, and the Cave Tourism Project at Khangkhui Cave to the public as part of the celebration.

TNL president David K Shimray and TNWL SA Ramnganing also attended the event as special guests.

Local villagers showcased various folk dances and songs to enthral the public as part of the festival.

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