North Lakhimpur (Assam), Apr 16 (PTI) It has been almost two-and-a-half-decades since a bustling village perished to erosion in Assam’s Lakhimpur district, and for a whole era, houses had been all however short-term shacks on the embankment of river Subansiri.
The residents of Kasomari village, which was swept away following floods in 2001, had been lastly rehabilitated in 2018 to the ‘No. 1 Hindu Adarsha Gaon’ (mannequin village), about 5 kms from right here.
Locals, nevertheless, claimed that the method of land allotment and introduction of welfare schemes have moved at a glacial tempo within the new village, although Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah maintained that swift progress has been made within the final couple of years.
Monikanta Das, a resident of the mannequin village, mentioned that they had received in contact with the state authorities for land quickly after deciding on the embankment, nevertheless it was solely in 2012 that the land advisory committee authorized a plot for rehabilitating them.
“For over 5 years, as a consequence of some political strain, we weren’t handed over the land. It took a Proper to Info Act software for the allotment to be made on April 9, 2018,” Das claimed.
Allotment was made for 153 households as per the unique record, although the quantity elevated to about 220 by 2018.
“Furthermore, every household was given solely a small piece of land for constructing homes. We had been additionally advised funds will likely be offered beneath the Mannequin Village Scheme, however are nonetheless awaiting it,” Das, in his late 40s who sells fish on the native market, mentioned.
One other villager mentioned as a consequence of non-allotment of agricultural land, they should work as each day wage labourers in close by areas to eke out a residing.
“We’re a household of seven members, however don’t have land for cultivation. I enchantment to the federal government to offer some land for farming,” he mentioned.
Annual flooding adopted the villagers to their new deal with, too, with the ladies dealing with extra difficulties in such conditions, mentioned Matu Das, a housewife.
“Throughout floods, individuals can not transfer round. If any home at an elevated stage has a rest room, we use it. We in some way survive the monsoons,” she mentioned.
Das mentioned some authorities amenities like ration card, medical health insurance and subsidised LPG cylinders have been made accessible to them, however many like her are nonetheless awaiting enrolment within the ‘Orunudoi’ scheme, beneath which the lady of the home receives Rs 1,250 per 30 days of their financial institution accounts.
A employee on the native anganwadi centre claimed it’s also in a state of neglect on this mannequin village, inhabited by individuals belonging to the Scheduled Caste.
Deepa Chutia Das of the Kolioni Anganwadi Kendra mentioned her repeated pleas earlier than the authorities to repair the centre, which wants correct roofing and bamboo partitions, have fallen on deaf ears.
“I’ve submitted purposes to our workplace. We additionally ship images of the kendra every day. The authorities are properly conscious of the situartion, however do nothing,” she mentioned.
Chutia Das mentioned many kids who come to the centre additionally refuse to eat the packaged meals offered to them as a consequence of high quality points, and he or she has knowledgeable her seniors in regards to the matter.
MP Pradan Baruah, who’s looking for a 3rd successive time period from Lakhimpur on a BJP ticket, nevertheless, asserted that work for offering fundamental public infrastructure has began.
“We organized for land for these individuals, and we are actually progressively attempting to offer them with the infrastructure. Amenities like ration card and electrical energy connection have already been made accessible. However, there are some individuals who haven’t been allotted homes, and there may be the issue of water logging, too,” Baruah mentioned.
Gokul Bharali, an area youth, who, together with just a few others, attempt to deal with among the points confronted by the villagers, mentioned work has been fast-tracked within the final couple of years.
Bharali claimed {that a} fundamental highway is being constructed, Rs 5 lakh has been allotted for a ‘namghar’ (group prayer corridor), a water tank was constructed at a value of Rs 1.5 crore, and Rs 8 lakh has been offered for constructing bogs and offering ingesting water facility on the native college.
He additionally mentioned that almost all households have gotten homes beneath the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, whereas agreements for extra have been signed and funds for the beneficiaries will seemingly be launched after the Lok Sabha elections.
“Some villagers might attempt to take pleasure in get together politics. However for us, growth of our village comes first and we’ll work along with the ruling regime to deal with issues,” Bharali asserted.
The 600-odd voters of this village in a constituency with an voters of over 15 lakh might not be a deciding issue within the polls, however they signify the scores of villagers displaced by floods and erosion within the space, and their expectations from the elected leaders for securing a greater future. PTI CORR SSG RBT
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