CHANU, Dec 30: Kanubari MLA Gabriel D Wangsu trekked miles to reach the Tissing river in Chanu village in Longding district on Thursday to assess the viability of human settlement at the river’s bank, as proposed by the people of Naitong Zong, a colony with nearly 84 houses in Chanu village.
Wangsu was accompanied by panchayat members and residents of the village.
The people of Naitong Zong had demanded a road connecting the chosen site to the village to hasten and ease the process of human settlement.
Wangsu promised to fulfill their demand, and advised other villagers also to settle in low-lying areas in the vicinity of the river, leaving the tough hilly terrains. At the same time, he cautioned the villagers against interfering with the road survey to be carried out by technical experts. He made it clear that no villager should dictate the path of the road in the hope of settling down at the roadsides.
“I have fulfilled all the demands put forth by you so far and will continue to do so,” Wangsu said.
The MLA attended the Kham-Pai ceremony at Chanu village the next day.
‘Kham-Dak’ involves the felling of a huge log-drum and dragging it to the village with the combined effort of all the villagers. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime ceremony as the log-drum usually survives a generation. The log-drum is played during joyous occasions and emergencies alike to inform the villagers of the impending situation. The Wancho log-drum is the largest musical instrument in the world.
Longding Deputy Commissioner VS Mallik lauded the villagers for preserving the local traditions in spite of the inevitable wind of modernization sweeping the village.
