Plight of State's remote border villages

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG, Nov 7: Frustrated with the poor condition of the five remotest villages located along the Indo-Bangladesh border of East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, youths of the region have come out to convey their plight to the people of the rest of the State.

Their voice voices have reached the Prime Minister Office (PMO), yet no concrete action has been taken to address the problems of the remotest and backward villages along the fringes of the intertiol border.

Kynjaimon Amse, Raja Suchen and A Mukhim, who are contemplating to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Meghalaya High court to ensure connectivity and other deprived amenities, revealed that the five villages with around 5000 odd population have to depend on Bangladesh for all the needed amenities.

These villages are Huroi, Hingaria, Lahelein, Basku and Lajri located within a span of five kilometers from the Indo-Bangladesh border.

“Our villages do not have any basic rights except the right to vote,” stated Kynjaimon Amse, a student studying Law in North Eastern Hill University (NEHU).

According to him, the villages are barely 45-50 km from the highway with little access to Indian amenities.

“ We have to rush to the nearest Bangladesh health care, using the Bangladesh Mobile phones, using the Bangladeshi Takas for our trade transaction and well without power and water supply besides health care,” stated Amse.

Stressing on the need to improve road connectivity to these remotest and backward villages, Amse along with his post graduate colleagues said that connectivity to tiol Highway 44 will do a great deal of work to the farmers who have to be dependent on Bangladesh rather than India.

Amse said, “My petition to the PMO has nothing to do with politics but to expose on what have our MPs, MLAs and MDcs have done during the last many years.”

Half a dozen youths hailing from these villages said that they have received the compliance from the PMO office but nothing has been done till date. “Frustrated over the iction of the state government, I and my friends filly approached the Chief Secretary on November 4 and the Chief Secretary has assured to look into the matter positively”.