DIPHU, Aug 30 - It is hard to believe and at the same time a harsh reality, that the residents of Upper and Lower Tarapung, located in the eastern part of Karbi Anglong have to trek the hilly terrains for 12 hours to reach the nearest rural locality, Dolamara to apply for their Aadhaar cards. According to the people, this wholly unavoidable pain could have been reduced by the authority in this hi-tech age, had they been a little compassionate towards their problems.
Government requirements have made Aadhaar an obligatory certificate for all its citizens but the local implementing agencies at the helm of power have never bothered to redress the constraints of the people. In this digital age, it is an ignominy that people are forced to walk for 12 hours to reach the nearest facility centre (which too becomes non-functional frequently) for applying for this document and repeat the same process a number of times to have it delivered.
Recently, three women from Tarapung accompanied by a man came to Dolamara last Sunday; the group began trekking early in the morning and reached Dolamara late in the evening. They were forced to live with an acquaintance, that too, at this time of the pandemic for the night and for the next two days just for applying for Aadhaar. On Wednesday they made their homeward journey towards the hill, another twelve-hour uphill walk.
They have employed a horse to carry their goods. For them, reaching home in a car is a delusion. Schools for their children, health centres, electricity, medical facility, all-weather roads are like a dream. They are just living a primordial life in the year 2020.
A �bizarre� sense of duty, as a citizen of this nation prevails among these people who are deprived of everything that the government has offered to its citizens. Inhabitants of Upper and Lower Tarapung have never skipped any citizen�s duty and have participated in every election. As luck would have it, the elected representatives and the local government have never ever bothered to rescue these miserable people from their archaic standard of living.
