Sonam Jelly

ITANAGAR, Mar 26: For decades, due to no road connectivity and impassable vegetation hampering human survival, forced the people of Berali, Abali, Induli and other villages under the Mipi circle in Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh sharing the international boundary with China were forced to move towards towns.
Survival was hard, and the narrow manmade road and flooded rivers during monsoon made it more difficult for the villagers. They had to travel for almost 2 days covering a distance of 38 km by foot to the town to grab a bag of rice and other needs.
With no option left, and concern for the children, the villagers slowly started moving towards the town in search of a better life with all their belongings. With the passage of time, the villages were totally empty with no human existence. One can find a single hut in the last village, Berali.
However, in 2022, as the villages were connected with motorable roads, it was time for the parents and their children for a homecoming, cherish their good old childhood memories, and look after their left ancestral land.
There are 13 villages that come under the Mipi circle. Berali is the last village that shares the international boundary with China and is still to be connected by road.
The Head GB, Tocha Mipi of the Brangu village still believes that as soon as the ongoing bridge construction is completed, the villagers will automatically come back to their homes.
Today, with better roads providing better transportation facilities and support from the district administration, the villagers are happy that they can grow vegetables and other commercial items in their once-abandoned fields. Apart from harvesting Kiwi and green leafy veggies, the villagers are also rearing pigs and other animals.
The village had many houses earlier. There are six now but with better road connectivity, many are planning to come back. Most of the families that returned to their village are happy and do not carry many complaints against the state government.
Besides PMGSY roads, a highway under a border roads project is in full swing. The villagers praised local MLA Mopi Mihu for being more inclined toward the overall development and welfare of the rural areas in the district.
The villagers are positive that the entire district will soon be connected with better roads to the rest of the districts after the recent sanction of 1,500 km Frontier Highway that would connect all the border areas of the state from east to west and inter-connecting roads between the highways of about 1,000 km by the Union Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways.
Now, the only concerns for the villagers are potable drinking water and a cellular network. Airtel towers have been installed in many areas of Anini town but are yet to be functional. And while a few villages have availed the facilities under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), some said they have been denied the scheme.
Officials said some villages have too few people to be eligible for the JJM scheme. However, the agency is working out to ensure each household in every border village is provided with potable drinking water.
But the people believe that with time and effort by the local MLA and the authorities concerned, every basic facility will soon be provided to them.
(The writer is a journalist based in Itanagar, 
Arunachal Pradesh.)

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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