Correspondent
SAMULAMLAN, August 14
Except MNREGS, no benefits under the centrally sponsored schemes under different sectors reached Olympic bronze medalist boxer MC Mary Kom’s village in Manipur.
This came to light when the village elders of Samulamlan including Mary Kom’s husband Onkholer Kom who is a native of the village, narrated about the grievances of villagers to a group of media persons recently.
“We’re not getting any kind of benefits under the central sponsored public schemes”, said social worker M Rekhupsong who is also the secretary of Samulamlan sub-division demand committee (SSDC). “Our students spend Rs 500-1000 just to get a domicile certificate not to speak of getting benefits under other government schemes.”The Kom villagers of Samulamlan, a picturesque village about 75 km south of Imphal located under Samulamlan Tribal Development (TD) block of Saikot assembly constituency in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, also expressed unhappiness over the exclusion of Samulamlan circle while the government named five new sub-divisions in the state recently.
The government has recently named Mao and Bungte Chiru in Senapati District, Lungchong Meiphai in Ukhrul District, Thangting in Churachandpur District and Haochong in Tamenglong District as five new sub-divisions of the state.
However Samulamlan block which was inaugurated during the Chief Minister Rishang Keishing regime on June 24, 1988, was shifted to Churachandpur after about 2 years due to factors relating to road and communication etc.
With the completion of adequate infrastructures including police barracks, bank, staff quarters etc under centre’s special plan assistance fund, the villagers now want conversion of Samulamlan TD block into a sub-divisional status like other blocks for the overall development of more than 40,000-50,000 villagers living across 115 villages of the block.
“But all of a sudden the government named 5 new sub-divisions including some less known blocks. This is not fair,” feels SSDC advisor M Lairamjao (75) who is yet to get his old age pension due to lack of communication gap with the concerned officials. Like Lairamjao, almost all 200 village elders are not getting their age old pensions as they could not fill up forms on time as their block office is located about 40 km away from the village.
“Some of the blocks such as Machi in Chandel and Langmeidong in Thoubal which are contemporary to Samulamlan block, had already been given sub-divisional status long ago,” he added.
It may be recalled that even the present local MLA TN Haokip had raised the issue of upgradation of Samulamlan in the state assembly in the late nineties.“That time the then government had even assured that they will do the needful”, Lairamjao recalled.
The demand for up gradation of the block into the sub-divisional status arises as the majority communities in the Samulamlan circle are yet to get the benefits of the central sponsored schemes.
But with the recent development office infrastructure including bank, police barracks, staff quarters etc at Samulamlan, the time has come to shift the block office at its previous location, he added.
At the same time the government should consider the demand for up gradation of Samulamlan which is inhabited by Kom,Kuki,Chiru,Chothe,Gangte,Kabui,Simte,Hmar,Meitei,Pangal etc.into the status of a sub-division in the interest of the general public, he felt.
