ITANAGAR, May 26: Claiming that the people of Sekong and Rapung villages of East Kameng district have been repeatedly disturbing the Puroik families by asking them to vacate their settlement area at Jarkam village under Lada circle of the district, the All Puroik Welfare Society (APWS) has sought the governor’s intervention into the issue at the earliest.
In a complaint letter addressed to the governor on Tuesday, the APWS has stated that the 12,000 sq mtrs land at Jarkam village was identified as settlement area for the families of the Puroi bonded labourers by the then NEFA government in 1978-1979.
“The Puroik bonded labourers were living in the said land for generations. The senior citizens and intellectuals of this area were aware of the fact, but it is unfortunate that masters of both the villages of Sekong and Rapung have been repeatedly disturbing Puroik bonded labourers and asking them to immediately vacate the land saying that they need to demarcate the boundary between the two villages,” it said.
The society also asked as to “why the committees of both the villagers have suddenly decided to vacate the said land belonging to the Puroik families,” while also adding: “The Puroiks have no source of income and are economically backward. Therefore, pressurizing them to vacate their land is totally illegal.”
The APWS also urged the governor to direct the East Kameng deputy commissioner to constitute a committee to take up the land demarcation issue at Jarkam village to ensure that the Puroik families may live without any future disturbance.
