TURA: The GNLA bandh declared on Ampati constituency of Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has entered its 10th day with no respite in sight as people are forced to remain indoors for days on end compelling the district administration to go all out to provide relief to the affected people.
Since Wednesday, government officials have been moving from house to house, village to village handing over basic relief in the form of rice, dal, salt and mustard oil. The move was necessitated given that reports began coming in to the district headquarters about people having run out of their food stock in many places.
To make matters worse, several thousand people who depend on daily work to feed their families have not been able to get any work due to the shutdown.
The task is daunting for the district officials given that Betasing block which includes Ampati constituency has as many as 127 villages and 44,000 people.
Relief officials are trekking up hills, crossing rivers and streams to reach the affected areas where many families reside by cultivating crops on the hill sides.
Teams of relief workers have distributed much needed food items to the residents of Jelbongpara, Badarkuna, Rongsang Awagre, Bollonggittok and other far flung regions of Betasing block which has been the most affected by the forced shutdown.
“We are trying to reach each and every one of the affected people. More than one week people have been inside their homes,” said Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh, who has been supervising the relief work from the district headquarters.
The bandh has also led to disruption of services not just in Ampati but also its adjoining areas.
According to the Deputy Commissioner many villages in Salmanpara constituency bordering Ampati and also in Zikzak area have remained closed for fear of reprisal attacks by militants.
“We are making all efforts to reach out to everyone affected by the closure and we are awaiting a report on the relief work in Zikzak block also,” informed Singh.
The effects of the militant strike is also having its ripples in Tura and other towns with the number of suppliers of fresh vegetables and other perishable goods from neighbouring Mancachar and Singimari towns of Assam having drastically fallen.
