Tousem sub-division braces for another monsoon season gloom
Source: The Sangai Express / Addie Chiphang

Tamenglong, June 21 2013 : The villages under Tousem sub division of Tamenglong dis-trict have once again braced up themselves to face yet another hard times with the approa-ching of the rainy season.

With their jhum cultivation having hit the lowest yield due to the rodent menace and the State mechanism unable to provide relief in any form thus far owing to reported pending of file works, the villagers are quite sure that by the time the file work is done and the relief arrives, at-least some famished farmers in the villages would have died of hunger, Haijuakambe of Taguaram village said while talking to this journalist.

Left with no choice, the people of this area have now started lifting rice from nearby villages of Assam like Tung-ge, Laisong etc by walking over a distance of 30 to 40 kms on foot, he added.

The washing down of a pucca bridge that connected the villages with the subdivi-sional headquarters by flood water last year is an added woe to the people.

In the absence of the connecting Bridge, the only way to access Tousem sub-divisional headquarters is a make- shift suspension bridge.

But locals could not bank on the makeshift bridge as it would not be able to withstand the element for long.

Villages like Phoklong and others have to depend on Khongsang-Jiribam road which is about 220 kms.

It takes about 12 hours on a good day from Tamenglong district headquarters.

Despite several demands for storing up sufficient stocks of rice during the dry season nothing was done, they lamented.

Now accessibility has become a huge issue.

Transpor- tation cost is so high that hiring a vehicle is too expensive that no villagers can afford.

Also for the rice provided under FCS as the transportation cost provided by the go- vernment is too less, they have to recover it from the rice itself.

Thus, rice is being sold in the village at a rate of over Rs 15-18 per kg.

even then, the quantity is so less that the village authority has to oversee the distribution so that at least all of them get some thing, they said.

Poor medical facility in the area is another factor that makes things worse.

The ma-nagement of Tousem PHC is being handed over to 'Karuna Trust.' The search for a regular MBBS doctor has not been successful thus far.

At present there are only nurses and the Ayush Doctor running the PHC and PHSC.

Malaria, typhoid and other related seasonal diseases are slowly turning their heads.

"There is a clarion call from the Government's machinery to come forward to do its share of works be it in providing better road facilities, relief, rice or medical facility etc to save the people," the locals aired.

Comment