HAILAKANDI, Nov 22 - With an aim to remove the sense of alienation and to bring the administration closer to the people, Hailakandi Deputy Commissioner Moloy Bora embarked on a mass contact programme recently by criss-crossing the district and focusing on the inaccessible and far-flung areas like Riflemara, a nondescript hamlet situated 13 kms inside dense forests and close to bordering Mizoram in southern Hailakandi.
The hamlet is mostly populated by Reang people. Superintendent of Police Pranab Jyoti Goswami and other top officials accompanied the team.
As part of the mass contact programme, a medical camp was organised jointly by the district administration and Assam Rifles at Riflemara. Doctors, nurses and ASHA workers from the Health and Family Welfare Deprtment and Assam Rifles pitched in to provide the best of treatment to those suffering from anemia, dental, gynaecological, pediatric and other ailments. A special immunisation drive for children was also carried out. Over 600 patients were treated.
The village has a population of around 5,000 only. In the wake of good response and the growing demand from the people of Riflemara for more health camps, Deputy Commissioner Bora assured that the administration would organise such camps from time to time.
The villagers lauded the district administration�s initiative led by village headman Tilok Ram Reang. It may be mentioned here that it was for the second time that any top official of the district visited the village. The young and old alike, who had assembled since early morning by braving the cold, exuded optimism that things will change for the better from now onwards and they will be able to enjoy the fruits of development that had eluded them so long.
Interacting with the villagers, Deputy Commissioner Bora explained to them that his sole purpose of coming to the backward village is to get first-hand account of the problems confronting them and how to redress their grievances. �I have come here with the purpose of having hands-on experience of the live issues of the people and to find out ways on how to resolve your genuine problems. This outreach programme has provided me an opportunity to directly witness a wide range of problems faced by the masses,� he said, adding that he had learnt a lot during his interface with the local people.
As the southern tip of Hailakandi district is plagued with extremist problem, as two extremist groups operate here � Riflemara and adjoining villages fall under it � Deputy Commissioner Bora urged the village headman and elderly to persuade the misguided youth to eschew violence and return to the social mainstream with the promise to rehabilitate them.
The Superintendent of Police said that the mass contact programme has been able to take the administration to the midst of the people. �Extremism will die a natural death if the socio-economic issues fueling it are effectively addressed. And the best way to tackle extremism is to build bridges of understanding through mass contact programmes,� he added.
Scores of people who thronged the venue to meet the Deputy Commissioner handed over petitions seeking his intervention to end their collective plight. Village headman Riang, who handed over a memorandum with several signatories, mentioned about some genuine and long-felt demands involving development of surface communication, health, education and drinking water. �These are basic and Fundamental Rights that we have been deprived of since long. In fact we are not asking for more,� Reang said.
For the record, Riflemara village was founded by headman Chandra Moni Reang in 1964. A memorial has been built in his honour. Paying floral tribute at the memorial, Deputy Commissioner Bora pointed out that his avowed mission is to bring awareness among the people, especially those living in far-flung areas, that �the administration is with them and wants to reach out to the underprivileged and marginalised sections so that they can reap the fruits of development�.
