[ Joken Ete ]
ITANAGAR, 7 Aug: For the residents of Tode (Hijum) Rime village in West Siang district, venturing out of the village during monsoon season is a risky affair.
Come summer, the residents of Tode Rime suffer untold miseries as the village is cut off from Pidi Rime and other parts of the state by the raging Hijum river (a tributary of the Hu/Pisam river).
“In the absence of a proper bridge, the people have to carry patients on their backs and cross a 15-20 metres long log bridge over the river to the Nikte PHC and the Aalo general hospital,” said Pokpe Rime, who is originally from Rime Moko but now resides in Aalo.
“When the river is in spate, parents don’t send their wards to schools, fearing that the children might slip off the log bridge and drown or suffer injury,” he said.
“My village is about 35 kilometres from Aalo, but it still lacks proper roads and other connectivity,” said Pokpe, who is also the secretary of the Rime Welfare Society.
“It pains me a lot to see development in other parts of the state, but the BJP government has not done anything for development here,” he said.
Pokpe added that other parts of the state have seen unprecedented development but Tode Rime does not have road connectivity till date.
“We are suffering due to neglect by the elected representatives,” he said, and speculated that “the sparse population might be one of the reasons that the area is completely ignored by the government.”
According to the 2011 census, Rime Moko, Pidi Rime and Todi Rime together have 33 households. The total population of the three villages is approximately 400, and the total voters are around 300 (including those residing in Aalo).
On 29 July, the residents of Rime Moko, Pidi Rime and Tode Rime villages discussed the pathetic road connectivity and the need for a bridge over the Hijum river.
Reckoning that the backwardness of the area is due to lack of proper connectivity, which has adversely affected the people of the area economically and socially, they resolved to urge the state government to construct an all-weather road from Pidi Rime to Hijum Rime.
They resolved also to seek improvement and realignment of the existing PMGSY road from Tabasora to Rime Moku, and improvement and realignment of the full stage of the NLCPR road from Nyorak to Rime, via Pidi Rime.
“We are helpless. If the bridge is washed away, the people of the two villages will not be able to see each other. Even schoolchildren will have to sit home idle,” said Gram Panchayat Chairperson Domin Rime.
“We have submitted numerous representations to our local MLA Tumke Bagra, but our requests have fallen on deaf ears,” Domin said.
“The existing PMGSY road from Tabasora to Rime Moko, constructed in 2001-2002, is now not at all motorable, and the road has not been repaired or maintained,” Domin said.
Rime Moko HGB Gambin Rime and Pokjo HGB Pidi Rime said that the people of the three villages have discussed the issues thoroughly, especially the matter of a bridge over the Hu river, and have resolved to place the grievances before the state government for redress.
“If the state government fails to fulfill our demands, we will resort to democratic agitation,” they said. “If necessary,” they added, “we will go to the extent of boycotting the upcoming parliamentary and state elections.”
Gambin and Pidi claimed that they have requested the local MLA twice – once after his election in 2014 and also during his second term. “Our last hope is to request Lok Sabha member and Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju,” they said.
On being contacted, local MLA and Industries Minister Tumke Bagra said that “no developmental work could be taken up due to Covid-19 as most of the funds were used up for procurement of vaccines, equipment, medicines, etc, by the state government and no funds were made available for developmental works.”
The two-time BJP legislator said that the state government also has not provided funds under the SIDF. He said he would try to include the bridge under a scheme.
Bagra, however, added that, “with less than a year to go for the elections, it may not be included.”
He declined to comment on the call for boycotting the general and state elections.
