Ibankyntiew Mawrie
SHILLONG,Oct 24: Mawphlang, where a byelection is currently being fought fiercely for establishing political capital, represents a typical rural canvas devoid of some of the basic human needs—thanks to the failed promises of the elected representatives .
The name Mawphlang is easily associated with famous Sacred Forest, Captain Hunt’s distillery (now defunct) and the source of Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme—all are ancient and old achievements. The villages and hamlets around Mawphlang have been languishing owing to unfulfilled promises of politicians for decades.
During a visit to a few of the villages in Mawphlang last week-end, this scribe caught a glimpse of some of the unmitigated problems suffered by the locals – the most common among them being lack of infrastructure—road connectivity, public transport, health or education.
Predictably, there is a disinterest for another election among a section of voters who are cut up due to perennial neglect and insentivity at various levels.
“We don’t care who gets elected; we only wish for a representative who would fix our problems. Our villages are located a little far from the main hub (Mawphlang) and we are connected by an internal road, that looked less of a road and more of a horse-galloping pathway,” said J Sun, a resident of Lwai Sohram.
According to the residents, the area once housed three villages – Lwai, Sohram and Mawiong. The problem of lack of connectivity has compelled the residents to move out from Mawiong and relocate at either Lwai or Sohram. “Mawiong is now a ghost (figuratively) village,” Sun remarked nonchalantly.
A prominent hamlet, Lwai Sohram is home to as many as 81 households. Though water is not a major problem for the villagers, thanks to spring and underground waters, the residents need not travel very far to fetch potable water, but the question of preservation remains.
Another resident of Lwai, A Sun expressed disappointment over the failure of the previous MLAs to fulfil their promises. “They had promised us a motorable road. Yes, we got a road but it is in such a bad condition that a journey that should take only a couple minutes to reach the main road would take at least 15 minutes,” she rued.
Before the villages were connected by road, the residents travelled back and forth using a small pathway, that was later repaired by the villagers through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) or the 100 days scheme.
“That small cemented trail that you see”, Sun said while pointing towards a long and curved path located across a muddy field, “We made that,” she proudly said.
Sun also rued the lack of commuting facility in the area.
“We have to walk for over an hour to drop our wards to school (St Paul Higher Secondary School in Mawphlang),” she said. There is one school in the area and it is being run by the Presbyterian Church.
Another resident M Khyriem asked, “If our promises continue to go unfulfilled, what is the point of voting? They make tall promises and agree to heed our requests only during elections, but soon after that they all disappear.”
From Lwai, our next stop was Nongspung village. The journey seemed unending as the road leading to the village was filled with potholes and unfit for travelling – the only smooth stretch was when we were nearing Nongspung village – hardly a kilometre of black-topped road.
“Yes, this road has been lying in a dilapidated condition for years now. No one seems to be doing anything about it. How much more can we complain and air our grievances?” questioned a resident of Sohpain Nongspung, who did not wish to be named.
Hitting out at the people in the helms of affairs, he referred to the countless unfinished and forgotten goals.
“They talk about good roads, flyovers, good schools, tap waters, better health infrastructure and so much more but sad to say that this government and governments of the past have not been able to live up to our expectations,” he said.
“Who will bother to listen to our cry for help? These are small issues in front of them, but to us, they are our lifelines,” he lamented.
According to D Umdor, an elderly resident of Tyrsad, the main problem staring at them at present is the lack of commuting facility by way of public transport system.
“The price of petrol is on the rise. For poor farmers like us, survival is becoming difficult. The profit that we used to get by selling our vegetables in the market (Iewduh) is all gone in transportation fares. Tell me, how can we survive like this?” she asked.
The residents seem to have no other recourse but to hope that the hype and promises will not end with this by-election.
Although they have voted many times in the past and many more elections are yet to come but faith in the system is shaken.
As of now, ridding them of their problems and difficulties and hardship and poverty appears to be far cry, no matter who gets garlanded on November 4!