Imphal, October 18: Education has suffered badly in the Maram area, with all nine government schools in the Maram area are in terrible shape after suffering from continued government neglect over the last ten years or so.

R Luni, headmaster of Maram Khullen School, told Imphal Free Press during a visit to Maram that the nine schools located at Maram Khullen.

Maram Mathak Sagei, Maram Makha Sagei, Maram Khullakpa Sagei, Kavanam, Sangongbam, Ramlong, New Maram and Laimuching - were severely understaffed, and as a result the student population was also declining.

Luni added that none of the schools had proper furniture or equipments and the school buildings were falling apart.

He said the prolonged neglect by the state government was the reason why the Maram public through the Village Development Councils of Maram circle and an NGO, MANEDA, took up a sensitization workshop on education, held yesterday at Maram centre.

The objective was to try and revive the government schools in the area, he said.

Other ideals also complain that apart from education, every necessity of human survival had failed at Maram.

The village chiefs and headmen of Taruba, Sagongbam and Kavanam, who also spoke to IFP, said that their immediate need was of water supply, medical facilities, transportation, and telecom service.

Due to lack of health care centres and medical facilities, patients have to be taken to Senapati bazar on foot, and seriously ill patients have to be sent to Imphal.

They said that whenever ministers visited Maram, they had submitted repeated memoranda, but there has been no response till today.

Representatives of the Maram Union and the Maram Students Union also disclosed to IFP that due to lack of proper water supply, the people depended on ponds in the jungles, which also meant a trek of upto one and a half kilometres amidst the hill terrain.

They also said that some mouth diseases have also spread in the area because of the people's dependence on the pond water.

Most of the people of Maram are agriculturists or cattle rearers, producing paddy, cabbage and potato.

The farmers in the area depend on a single hand pump for irrigation needs.

Locals said five hand pumps were provided by the Public Health Engineering Department, but only one is functioning.

The remarks of DC, Senapati, T Pamei, who attended the sensitization workshop yesterday, also showed up another problem faced with regard to bringing in development.

He said there were enough development funds for the Maram area, but said that development can take place only when the people did not give away the funds to the underground activists.

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