Nongpoh: A village in the remote part of Ri Bhoi district inhabited mostly by daily wage labourers and poverty stricken people have been severely affected by the lockdown imposed by the Government to contain the spread of COVID-19.
With restrictions in place, the only thing the villagers can do is communicate with their loved ones but to their dismay this has become a hindrance in their area.
A resident of Warmawsaw village in Jirang under Ri Bhoi, Foller Doloi, alleged that they have been hit hard by the lockdown from all fronts.
Doloi lamented that besides the hardships that the people suffer another additional problem added to it is that they cannot communicate with their dear ones because there is no mobile connectivity.
‘People from outside also cannot contact us. This is a huge problem as now everything is digital. We have no one to blame since the tower is here in the village. The mobile tower here is not working at all except for a week or so in the last seven to eight years back’, he said.
He also informed that the villagers along with him use to inspect the tower site frequently and it was pathetic that words cannot suffice to state the present condition of the tower.
Doloi said,‘It is impossible to identify whether it is a reserve forest or a tower site while adding that photos and video of the same will have a better explanation of the current scenario.’As per information from the construction site signboard, the tower has been commissioned since April 1, 2009.
The board reads that the IP is KEC International Ltd and the USP’s include Dishnet Wireless Ltd, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Reliance Telecom Ltd.
‘Whenever I contact the officials concerned their reply was that they would make the tower operational immediately’, Doloi added.
He also informed that the foundation of the tower is in a deteriorating condition as the soil is very loose and on the verge of sliding. As the location of the tower is just a few meters away from the Warmawsaw weekly market area, it might collapse anytime and create havoc to the residents, he stated.
Doloi further added that the matter was taken to the village authorities but it has fallen on deaf ears. He urged the concerned authority to resolve the matter at the earliest.
