MIRZA, March 22 � Decades-long lethargy on the part of the Government towards areas bordering Meghalaya has made matter worse. Socio-economic condition apart, lack of proper heath care system, non-electrification and uncared for educational system have crippled nearly 5,000 people. Students community, in particular is the worst sufferer. Students after passing eighth standard have to bid adieu to schooling in the face of nonexistence of a single school in their huge locality.
Interneting with The Assam Tribune, a group of youth of village Baroigaon, about 45 km from Mirza lamented, holding the earlier attitude liable for their untold miseries. Baroigaon consisting of four villages� Ranikhamar, Sonapur, Kathalguri, Ververi and Lankhar is agriculture dependent. Besides paddy cultivation, muga rearing is another source of their livelihood. Benjari Rabha, and Babuli Rabha two farmers expressed their grievances and said the raw deal meted out to them is the sole impediment to their economic well being.
The bumper yearly productivity of these villages reportedly suffer owing to depredation by wild elephants who graze the paddy during harvesting season. As far as road network is concerned nearly 15 km stretch from Rajapara needs to be developed and being not motorable for public transport people have to undertake the long walk. �Our pleas to the rural road division seeking development of our arterial road have failed to evoke positive response,� they need. Up to 1991, country boats used to be the lone mode of transportation.
Of all the Lower Primary Schools� Beroigaon LP, Sonapur LP, Ranikhaman LP Kathalguri LP � both Sonapur and Baroigaon that are Garo medium reportedly need language teachers. Students have to come to Muduki in pursuit of upper class courses. The Baroigaon ME School is also reportedly in need of Assamese, Science and Hindi teachers.
Ranikhaman LP School nearby being run by only ten teachers including the OBB teacher is facing inconvenience. The storm-ravaged building is hardly suitable for regular classes.
�We have to run our classes in a single room as the roofs of the school building were damaged by storm on May 9 last year. It is yet to be repaired, Jibeshwar Rabha, a teacher, informed, adding, intimation to the authority concerned has fallen on deaf ears.
Moreover, going by the health scenario only a subcentre exists and consequently, patients have to undertake a journey upto Loharghat. In the name of electricity light posts have been installed but they are yet to be electrified.
More than two decades have elapsed since the installation of light posts with transformers but power is yet eluding the populace. The huge area consisting of scores of villages from Bagan to Baroigaon has been suffering for deprivation of power supply facilities and along with the villagers, forest personnel are bearing the brunt of Govt negligence.
The case in point is the Kathalguri camp in Loharghat range where forest personnel are saddled with the job of curbing illegal logging in silence without electricity.
�The tourist lodge at Chandubi is yet to be electrified.� Because of infrastructure bottleneck in our forest rich area, tourist develop suffered, Tai Rabha observed. He underscored the pressing need for taking cognizance of socio-economic condition of the area by the authority concerned.
