HAFLONG, Dec 9 � Longchiui, a village located only 3 km from Umrangso, the only industrial township of Dima Hasao district, is still lagging behind in development.
The village was established by the people affected by the Kopili Hydro Electric Project as their ancestral village Sikilangso was taken over by the NEEPCO way back in 1976. They were compensated but with meagre amounts and with some long promises of development and other facilities.
The village has 38 houses and a 200-plus population. The villagers are solely dependent on jhum cultivation which provides them with rice for only two months in a year. Earlier, they had vast areas of wetland but after the establishment of the NEEPCO project, all their paddy fields were submerged. The village has an LP school, but no water supply and proper medical services.
Ra Teron, the 75-year old gaonburah of the Longchiui village, who still does jhum cultivation, told this correspondent that the plight of the people of the village was never considered by the authorities concerned for reasons best known to them. �Political leaders visit the village only before the election and make tall promises about development but after the election, they never visit the village. Thus our problems remain unaddressed. We do not even have access to the basic amenities and do not have any employment opportunities worth the name.� he said.
Sarthe Teron, another villager, said, �Though our village is nearest to the Umrangso township, there is no approach road to the village, and being nearest to a cement factory, the people are suffering from diseases due to cement dust. This year, we did not get sufficient paddy as rodents destroyed our crops. There is no one to address our sufferings in the days to come,� he lamented.
