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Fed up with Govt promises, Jogirbondh villagers construct 3.5-km road on their own

By Correspondent

SILCHAR, Feb 25 - After waiting for the government and its agencies to build a road for them for many years, the impoverished villagers of Jogirbondh under Barjalenga development block in Cachar district, 34 km from Silchar, have completed the stupendous task of building a 3.5-km road, all on their own in less than two years.

The efforts of the villagers, however, received support from NGO Chotto Prochesta. The village, which comprises around 200 families, has no basic amenities and is yet to see an electricity post.

�We have not seen a single house built under the IAY,� claimed the villagers. However, there was great joy among the villagers on Friday as they thronged to witness the ceremonial opening of the road.

56 year old Jitendra Suklabaidya, headmaster of 1459 Nuharband LP School, the only school in the village, is also the only government employee from the entire village. Others work in shops and other private establishments.

�We have had promises galore. Nothing materialised. We made regular visits to government offices with requests to build a road connecting it to the main road. Political candidates come seeking votes and after winning, they just disappear. This forced us to take up the challenge to accumulate funds to construct the roads on our own. The villagers deposited their hard-earned money and it took us a year and half to come up with the road,� the headmaster said.

Suklabaidya added that despite schemes sanctioned for the village households in 2014, the APDCL authorities are largely apathetic towards installing the pillars for electrification.

Liton Das, a former student of the school, shared his disappointment saying that they have been left to God�s mercy in terms of facilities available. �We want the government to take a look at our plight,� the TET-qualified unemployed youth said.

Interestingly, this village falls within Dholai constituency from where seasoned politician and now the PWD Minister Parimal Suklabadiya had been voted to power.

Rajib Choudhury, general secretary of the NGO, said that the Minister had agreed to visit the village to inaugurate the road, but in the evening. �But since the village has no power supply and with rain around, we had to inaugurate the road during the day hours,� Choudhury said.

Veteran journalist Nilotpal Choudhury, who was the chief guest on the occasion, criticised the policies of the government which has kept the village out of the ambit of rural electrification.

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