Editor,
The West Kameng district administration’s recent decision to evict government employees from the quarters near Nechipu School, Bomdila, is not just an administrative action; it is a glaring failure of empathy and responsibility. While the need to demolish dilapidated quarters and build new, safer housing is undeniable, the way this eviction is being carried out is both arbitrary and inhumane.
Progress should never trample the very people who make it possible. The administration’s plan to construct new quarters is commendable, but what about the employees who currently call these old quarters home? The new accommodations are still incomplete, and every available rental is already occupied. Yet, employees – many with families, children, and elderly parents – are being given just a week to vacate. Even three months would be insufficient unless the new quarters are ready. Where are these people supposed to go?
Bomdila is not a sprawling city with endless housing options. It is a small town, with a severe shortage of private accommodation – especially for non-tribal employees who lack local roots or support networks. Forcing these employees out with nowhere to turn to is not just careless; it is cruel. It sends a chilling message: the administration is willing to cast aside its own workers in the name of ‘development’. Is this the example we want to set?
Government employees are not faceless tenants – they are the backbone of public service in West Kameng. They are teachers, health workers, clerks, and officers who keep the wheels of governance turning. To treat them as expendable, to force them out without providing alternative accommodation or even a realistic timeline, is a betrayal of trust and basic decency.
The administration’s responsibility does not end at issuing eviction notices. It begins with ensuring that those who serve the public are themselves treated with dignity and respect. Anything less is an abdication of duty.
This situation demands immediate correction: Halt all evictions until new quarters are fully constructed and ready for occupation; provide temporary housing, or other meaningful support to every displaced employee; and open a direct line of communication with affected employees to address their needs and anxieties.
True progress is not measured by the number of new buildings, but by how we treat our people in times of transition. The district administration must remember: without its employees, there is no administration. To abandon them now is to undermine the very foundation of public service.
Let this be a wake-up call. The people of Bomdila – and indeed, all of Arunachal Pradesh – are watching. Will the administration choose compassion and common sense, or will it continue down a path of callousness and disregard? The answer will define not just this project but the character of governance in our district for years to come.
Tenzing