Udalguri residents pin hope on next government

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

TANGLA, April 3: With the day of counting of votes for the State Assembly elections approaching, the people of the villages along the Indo-Bhutan border of Udalguri district are pinning their hopes on the new Government.

Talking to this correspondent, one Suren Kisku of Bhairabpur village under Bhairabkunda police outpost said, “The border villages have been plaguing with safe drinking water since Independence, but nothing has been done to solve the problem.”

Another farmer Ganesh Bahadur Bista of Kalajhar said that the entire border area is deprived of electricity, safe drinking water and proper health centre. The PMGSY road has not been completed which creates problems during the rainy season. “Moreover, this entire border area has been a passage of wild elephants, creating panicky situation during the harvesting time,” he added.

Santa Sirpali of Khowrang said that even though the roads were constructed up to the Khowrang area, but the villagers living near the Bhutan border have been demanding safe drinking water facility for a long time. One Gwjwn Boro of Amjuli said that they were let to live in a primitive way for which the Government was responsible.

It is to be noted that there are more than 10 villages where man-elephant conflict is a crucial problem. There is a century-old well in Amjuli area where villagers of the remote border areas have to throng daily to fetch drinking water and most of them have to walk about eight to 10 km with their pots. “This time, we hope a lot from the new Government and we sincerely believe that the new Government will take up schemes to provide safe drinking water, electricity and village road facilities so that we can make an easy link with the district headquarters at Udalguri town,” the villagers of Garobasti said.