Editor,
As a young resident of Tirap district, I share the dreams of countless others for a brighter future filled with opportunity.
In our verdant corner of Arunachal Pradesh, government initiatives like the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Swavalamban Yojana (DDUSY), Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME), and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) programmes hold immense potential for unemployed youths, students, farmers and entrepreneurs. Yet, a troubling lack of awareness keeps these opportunities out of reach for most.
Growing up in Tirap, I’ve watched students, friends, youths and neighbours miss out on scholarships, job openings, agricultural subsidies, entrepreneurship workshops and vital government plans and programmes – not for lack of ambition, but because critical information rarely reaches them. Schemes like the DDUSY offer low-cost loans to start businesses; PMFME supports micro food processing units to harness our agricultural wealth, and MSME programmes provide credit and technology upgrades for small-scale entrepreneurs. These initiatives, accessible through such platforms, could transform lives. But in Tirap, they remain largely unknown, often benefiting only a few.
This information gap is glaring. The district administration’s digital presence is limited to aged and distorted practice with basics of displaying on notice boards and dispatching hardcopies to ZPMs, GBs, NGOs, CBOs and HoDs, with no active social media platforms like a Facebook page or a WhatsApp channel to share real-time updates in this digital era.
In 2025, when over 70% of Arunachal’s youths are active online, this absence is unacceptable. A single post or message could reach villages from Lazu to Dadam in seconds, empowering people with details about deadlines and applications. Despite repeated appeals to the district administration and the Department of Information & Public Relations (DIPRO), Tirap, little has been done to bridge this divide.
A couple of days ago, I raised these concerns in a local Facebook group, referred to as ‘The Tirap News’ (TTN), with over 51,000 participating members, including officials of the DIPRO and the district administration of Tirap, hoping to spark a conversation about transparency and accountability.
My goal was simple: to ensure that schemes meant for students, farmers, and unemployed youths reach everyone, not just a select few. Shockingly, my efforts were dismissed and labelled as “baseless” and “biased” by some officials. Worse, my TTN profile was later suspended without explanation until 24 September, 2025, preventing me from engaging further.
This raises a painful question: are the voices of Tirap’s youths being silenced for demanding what is rightfully ours?
Most of us in Lazu, Deomali, Borduria, Dadam or outside Khonsa are ordinary youths, scrolling social media, yearning for a chance to build a better future. Tirap’s rich biodiversity and 70% forest cover offer endless possibilities, but without access to information, those possibilities remain untapped. Who, then, is accountable for the opportunities we lose?
I urge the district administration and DIPRO Tirap to take immediate action:
1). Launch digital platforms: Create an official Facebook page/WhatsApp channel to share timely updates on schemes, jobs, and events across all circles.
2). Clarify extension of scheme: Confirm whether DDUSY, PMFME, MSME, and other programmes are active in Tirap, with clear application details and extension of deadlines.
3). Foster open dialogue: Ensure that platforms like TTN remain spaces for free, inclusive discussion, not tools to suppress voices.
4). Engage the community: Organize awareness campaigns or virtual sessions to hear directly from youths and farmers about our needs.
Tirap’s youths are resilient, driven by dreams of progress and pride. A transparent, digital-first approach to sharing information can turn those dreams into reality. Let’s not allow another opportunity to slip away. The time for change is now for every young person, farmer and entrepreneur in Tirap who dares to dream.
Shina Nyamtey