[Mingkeng Osik]
PANGIN, Dec 7: In a dramatic turn of events, an angry mob on Thursday burned the effigy of Power & Industry Minister, Tamiyo Taga here, and submitted a ‘final memorandum’, signed in their own blood, to the Chief Minister, demanding Pangin as the headquarters of Siang district.
Around 1200 people, with support from nearby villages, gathered at the general ground and burned the minister’s effigy, shouting, ‘Tamiyo Taga murdabad!’
Members of the Siang District Headquarters Welfare Committee (SDHWC) told this correspondent that on 24 November, 2014, Pangin (Nyobo-Perang Lampang) had been notified as the temporary headquarters of Siang.
The decision was passed in the Legislative Assembly, and signed by the then cabinet ministers, including the present Power & Industry Minister.
“But now, after four years, when everything has been established and settled in Pangin, Taga is deliberately choosing Boleng – which was never in the picture – as the headquarters,” they said.
The people of Pangin (Nyobo-Perang Lampang) gave up everything they had to make Pangin the headquarters of Siang, they said.
“We submitted numerous memorandums to present Chief Minister, Pema Khandu, and former CM Kalikho Pul regarding this matter. As of now, we have already donated 2103 hectares of land for free, and built a 4.5 km-long connecting road around Nyobo-Perang Lampang in Pangin. We have sacrificed our livelihood, sold our cattle and land, and donated everything for this. We cannot afford to lose it because of some lucrative political motive of Taga’s,” SDHWC General Secretary Tatok Panor said.
Several government departments, such as PHED, WRD, UD, and APEDA, have already been settled in Pangin. A water tank with a 3 lakh litre capacity has been set up in Nyobo-Perang Lampang. The villagers of Komsing donated a 1100 hectare-long field on a mountain for constructing an advanced landing ground.
Members of the SDHWC literally slit their hands and signed the memorandum before submitting it to the Chief Minister. They said they would resort to a democratic movement if Pangin is not made Siang’s headquarters.
