IMPHAL, April 7: Tamenglong district still remains one of the most underdeveloped districts with public facing scarcity of drinking water, lack of proper medical facilities, erratic power supply and road connectivity among others.
Rolling up his sleeves to tackle the administration jinx of the area, newly elected MSCP MLA, Janghemlung Panmei carried out a whirlwind tour of some of the different government departments located within the district headquarters today.
The MLA during his visit to the PHED and electricity office found that the concerned officers were absent and there was nobody with authority to look after the workings of the said departments.
In his maiden visit post-election, Janghemlung oversaw the work progress of the new 50 bedded hospital being constructed at Duigailong today. The progress was deliberated with the concerned officials and it was assured to the MLA that the work will be completed within December 2012. The MLA also urged to hasten the work schedule before the monsoon sets in and further that he will urge the state government for timely release of the funds from his side.
He also intimated the DRDA executive director, Joseph Pauline to finish blacktopping of the approach road to the hospital within the end of this year.
In his next visit to the PHED department located near Duigailong, the MLA found that there were no authorities present at the office. Afterwards, he along with other officers inspected the water reservoir and found that there was no stock of water despite two days of continuous rain at the district headquarters.
He told villagers of the area that the reservoir is not sufficient to meet the demands of the town and measures including development of rain water harvesting facilities needs to be propagated to cater for the lean seasons ahead. He addressed the gathering there that providing potable water and administering health benefits are among his top priorities.
Likewise, the electricity department located near the DC office also saw absentees of officials. The EE and AE were absent except for some linesman.
It was learnt during his tour that top officials of most departments had remained absent from office for quite some time.
A visibly irritated Janghemlung promised to take up punitive action against such erring officials stating that gross ignorance of responsibilities by such officers have led to ‘arrested development’ of the district. He mentioned that even if the people come to clear their bills, there are no officials to receive them.
At his final visit to the district hospital, the MLA interacted with the doctors and other medical staff. The need to develop the infrastructure and depute additional doctors including specialists was highlighted by the staff.
Janghemlung asked the doctors and officials to tender the demands in the form of a memorandum,so as to submit it himself to the concerned minister shortly. The need to keep two ambulances at the hospital was also highlighted by the MLA.
It was noticed that the campus of the hospital was encroached and several illegal tenants were occupying a portion of the land. In the regard, the concerned SDO was directed to evict the encroachers within a week’s time.
It may be mentioned that IFP reporter at Tamenglong found that several offices inclusive of the Veterinary, District Information Office, Statistics department, Co-operative office and district court among others were found lying in a state of defunct.
The Public Distribution System is almost non-existent even at Tamenglong headquarters. R Panmei, a villager said, “ We have the BPL cards, but we carry it for identification purposes only. Getting kerosene and sugar is unimaginable”.
It was learnt that most of the public of the interior area of the district remains ignorant of the government aided schemes inclusive of Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan,PDS, Indira Awaj Yojna,etc.
It was also observed that the nearly fourty kilometers stretch from Khongsang to Tamenglong also lies in pathetic condition. Telephonic connectivity is limited to BSNL landlines and though, mobile service including internet is provided by the company, it still cannot be termed as functional.