Dear Editor,
The recent bye election in Likabali Assembly constituency has seen a beginning of an innovative social movement in the state. The movement initiated by the people of Kangku Circle (KC) was unique and a departure from the rest. The No Road No Vote (NRNV) movement has certainly caught the attention of many. Unlike unilateral call of Bandh/strike culture by various self styled organization, the NRNV movement was completely a people’s movement which is effective yet a peace full movement to vent out grievances to the government by the public. People of KC voluntarily abstained from voting which is their legal right in lieu of Roads as a bargain. Whereas, in a bandh call the public is forcefully drawn into participation without their will, support and thereby causing immense hardship to the public.
The demand made by NRNV movement is very genuine and the means adopted, in fact I feel should be emulated by all those who are aggrieved from the apathy of the government’s development agenda. Road is the life and blood of the society. Roads are the placenta which connects the society the child to the development the mother. Through it flow’s all necessities of life for sustenance. Be it food, life saving drug, farm produce etc. Roads are the conduit of life’s activities. Roads provide access to the outside world. Through roads children are taken to school for education and patients to the hospitals for better treatment. In addition, roads provide access to employment, social, health and education services which makes a road network crucial in fighting against poverty. A Road is instrumental in opening areas, market access and stimulates economic and social development. In final analysis Roads are the backbone for the development of a society. In the present scenario KC has around twenty four (24) villages which are unfortunately not connected with roads. Despite being so near to Assam which is hub of economic activities yet is very far from any economic development and lowly placed in the economic development indices.
I as a native of Tuting Circle, Upper Siang feel the same pain and agony due to lack of proper roads in our area. Since independence there is no road to be dependent upon in that area. When summer comes all activities remain static excepting the rain water. There are just around 12-13 villages in the area to be properly connected however, nobody seems to be interested. Tuting is one of the most scenically beautiful places in the state with immense potential for Tourism. People can be self sufficient on the development of tourism but the misfortune is that there is lack of all weather roads which is the only means to augment such development. Another misfortune is the stoic silence of intellectuals and the wise men on the said issue and to add to its misery the alarming indifference shown by the successive governments ruling the state of Arunachal Pradesh. We are obstinately immune to hollow declarations, announcements and tall claims made by dwarf politician until nothing is happening in the ground.
I think it is about time, we pick a leaf from the NRNV movement and place our demand to the government for Roads from where emanates our basic right to life. By just abstaining from voting which otherwise today is only a means by some individual to become powerful and wealthy is to pinch where it pains. Such simple legal right if used rightfully could bring tremendous change in the society and in method how we place our demands with full public support and inconvenience to none. I consider NRNV as a harbinger of change in the years to come in the right perspective.
Yours,
Tendy Lamo