[ Karda Natam ]
DAPORIJO, 16 Jul: Over 1,000 people took out a peaceful rally here in Upper Subansiri district on Friday, in protest against the construction of a boundary wall around the heliport project site in the middle of the old airport here.
The protestors said that the area is the lone public recreational centre in the town, especially for the senior citizens who take their morning and evening walks in the area.
They said that they are not against any development schemes but are against “the way the boundary wall is being constructed in the name of government schemes, since some portions of the land in airfield are left out and some areas are being protected by boundary wall.”
They submitted a representation to the deputy commissioner, questioning why the boundary wall is not being constructed to cover the entire airfield, as leaving some portions of the land may lead to encroachment. They claimed that “already 15 people have applied for land allotment in the airfield.”
The construction of the boundary wall in the middle of the airfield would open the floodgate for encroachers, they said.
The protestors marched to the DC office and apprised DC Mika Nyori of their grievance.
Nyori on his part said that “any government schemes are meant for the welfare of the public and all the work is being executed under proper government guidelines, and moreover, the land is under civil aviation, so department concerned has better knowledge of the scheme.”
Giving assurance that he would place their grievance before the “higher level,” the DC said that “no government land, especially in the airfield, will be encroached by any individual, and stern action will be taken against such an act.”
Meanwhile, the Upper Subansiri Anti Corruption Sena has served an ultimatum to the district administration to dismantle the ongoing boundary wall construction and construct a wall around the entire airfield. Failure to meet the demand would invite “serious democratic movements from public, as well,” it said.
