PESSING, 27 Jan: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday assured the people of Siang district, particularly those residing in the Rumgong assembly constituency, of overall development in the coming years.
Joining the Hiyom Banggo Unying Giidi festival here, Khandu admitted that the Rumgong region of the district has remained underdeveloped for long, and said that the state government would leave no stone unturned to compensate for the developmental gap.
He termed road connectivity in the region the main concern, and gave assurance that all unconnected villages of the assembly segment would be connected in the next couple of years.
To start with, Khandu informed, four roads have been proposed under PMGSY-IV in Payum circle to boost connectivity in the region. He said that these four proposed roads include the BRO road to Gate (47 kms), that would connect Dupu, Yio, Payum, Gacheng and Gate villages; the Payum to Gaming (8 kms); the BRO road to Meying (13 kms); and the BRO road to Sirum (11 kms), via Tuying.
As a festival gift, the chief minister announced sanctioning of projects worth Rs 66 crores in the area, including several roads, two circuit houses, school building and quarters for the government higher secondary school in Pessing, and an ADC office building in Rumgong.
He informed that the state budget for 2025-26 would be submitted in March, and gave assurance that the proposals forwarded by the guardian minister and mentor secretary of the district, with due consultation with the local legislator and the district administration, would be “considered positively.”
Highlighting the agriculture and horticulture potential of the region, Khandu said that the state government would soon establish a fruit farm here to assist local farmers through value-addition of their produces, and offer market linkages.
He urged the youths to avail of schemes like the entrepreneurship development programme and the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Swavlamban Yojana to start their own businesses.
“Government jobs are limited. Not all can be accommodated. Therefore, our youths need to stand up on their own feet and become job givers rather than job seekers,” he added.
Khandu said that, once the Trans-Arunachal Highway stretch from Kaying to Mechukha is complete, the Rumgong assembly segment would be well-connected with the rest of the state. Further, he informed, once the ambitious 2,500 km frontier highway is executed, the entire upper belt of Arunachal Pradesh would witness “a huge boost in terms of tourism and agri-horti produces.”
Responding to a five-point memorandum submitted by local legislator Talem Taboh, the chief minister assured that all the demands would be met sooner rather than later.
Earlier, the chief minister inaugurated a water supply project for Jomlo administrative headquarters, a road connecting Pangken and Bingung under the PMGSY, and a six-bedded daycare centre in the Pessing PHC. He also laid the foundation stone for improvement of road from Rumgong ADC headquarters to NH-13 in Patum.
Lok Sabha MP Tapir Gao accompanied Khandu atthe festival. (CM’s PR Cell)
