GUWAHATI: The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) has blamed respective governments at the Centre for the “neglect” meted to the frontier state in terms of accelerating development in the border areas.
“The absence of all-weather roads and other infrastructure in the border areas has its own sordid stories to tell. This absence is not only making life difficult for the locals living in the border areas but also for the defence personnel deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC),” it said.
The students’ union urged the Centre “to stop looking Arunachal only through the prism of security and rather take a more inclusive approach of development which is at par with other Indian states.”
The union, meanwhile, convened an emergency meeting at Itanagar on Sunday to appeal to the Centre and state government to ensure early and safe release of the five civilians who were reportedly abducted by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from Nacho in Upper Subansiri district.
During the meeting, the AAPSU leaders termed the “incident” unfortunate, claiming it was not an isolated case.
“The PLA has been indulging in similar antics whereby innocent civilians living along the inhospitable border areas are taken captive at regular intervals. Recurrence of such incidents simply reflects the failure of the central government as well as state government in protecting our people inhabiting the border areas,” a statement issued by the union said.
“The misadventures of 1962 should also not be forgotten where our frontier state was a major theatre of war. We feel that with abysmal road infrastructure and other development, history may repeat lest those in Delhi and Itanagar are mindful of the emerging situation,” it stated.