SHILLONG, March 14: The Congress on Sunday came down heavily on the NPP-led MDA government for ignoring developmental activities in the villages along the inter-state boundary with Assam and the international border with Bangladesh.
“I strongly fear that the people of the border villages will start feeling that the government is not concerned about their difficulties and problems.The people will start to have doubts about belonging to the state,” Congress MLA from Mawsynram, Himalaya Shangpliang said.
He said he will take up in the Assembly the issue of the people of the border villages in Jaintia Hills who feel it would be better to be a part of Bangladesh.
“It is really sad that it has come to this extent. We need to understand that the people residing along the inter-state and international borders are important for us,” Shangpliang said.
He alleged there is hardly any developmental activity in his constituency that has 40 villages along a long stretch of the border with Bangladesh.
“The Border Area Development scheme funded by the Ministry of Home Affairs has not come. Even the Border Areas Development Minister, Lakhmen Rymbui does not know why the ministry has not released the fund,” he said.
According to him, all the border villagers are dependent on the departmental activities.
“There has hardly been any construction of road, footpath or school building in the last two years. The people of the border areas are living in a pathetic condition. I had to fight so much just to get a ring well approved for the border people,” Shangpliang said, lamenting the lack of a health centre in the border areas from Dangar to Ryngku village.
“This is a serious matter. It is really bad if the people along the border villages are remembered only during the election,” the Mawsynram MLA said.