:: News Plus

Over 6,000 children languish in relief camps in Assam

Manoj Anand

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing his concern over the situation in strife-torn North Cachar Autonomous Hills district of Assam, the blame game has started. The chief minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, said that he does not have any say in the affairs of the sixth schedule autonomous districts of the state. He said that it was the governor who has been entrusted with the responsibility of looking into the affairs of the autonomous districts.

If one has to see the constitution, of course, the Assam government does not have any say in the affairs of the autonomous district councils, but the law and order of the district is the state affairs.

It is the reason that veteran Dimasa leader and Congress MLA G.C. Langthasa blames the state administration, which removed the security mechanism along the inter-state border with Nagaland and Manipur in North Cachar Hills, for the present crisis that was allowed to escalate. It was also one of the major reasons behind the upsurge of insurgent groups who still have a free run from neighbouring states to the district.

In a memorandum to the home ministry, Mr Langthasa, who has been elected to the state Assembly from Haflong constituency five times and held cabinet portfolios in both the Hiteswar Saikia and the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government, has pointed out that the problem started since 1984, the year the state government decided to abolish the border outpost with Nagaland and Manipur. "There were at least 20 border outposts with advanced security headquarters at Mahur and Maibong," he said recalling that the first fallout of removing these outpost was noticed in 1984 itself when Naga rebels raided the North Cachar Hills villages. He also accused that the tribal residents of district are the worst sufferers, but they have not been taken into confidence.

In the worst ever human tragedy that struck the hills district in March this year, over 43 Dimasa villages and 20 Zemi Naga villages have been attacked and burnt down. Over 16,791 people have been rendered homeless and are taking shelter in different relief camps. The nightmare of the violence-hit people could be estimated by the facts that more than 6,000 children are taking shelter in different relief camps and their condition was very pathetic. Former MP and veteran Bodo leader U.G. Brahama who visited the district on a goodwill mission alleged that every right of the child was violated in the NC Hills district and a bleak future was staring at those children who have been deprived of medical care, education as schools are being used as relief camps.

Appealing to all sections of the society and the governments for help to tide over the human crisis in the hills district, a goodwill team of intellectuals, members of student organisations and political leaders that recently visited the hills district has also requested for intervention of international bodies like the Unicef as violence-affected children have been passing through one of the worst nightmares of their lives. "The conflict started in March, and since then there has been no supply of baby food to the relief camps and no child specialist has visited these camps," said Mr Langthasa, expressing his helplessness over the situation.

He lamented, "We are ready to extend all kinds of help to the state administration in containing the situation, but nobody was listening to their suggestions." He warned that people of the district may face starvation-like situation if the government fails to supply relief to them as people could not harvest crops through their traditional jhoom cultivation this years.

Mr Langthasa advocated that the local leaders of the district should be taken into confidence to resolve the present crisis situation in the district. He also stressed the need of urgency in resolving the situation while appreciating the Prime Minister for his concern on situation of N.C. Hills.

The veteran Dimasa leader has also suggested that local youths should be recruited to create a special task force of village and town police to counter the insurgency in the district. He asserted that priority should be to tackle the present crisis situation in order to rehabilitate the people affected in violence.

Mr Langthasa also ruled out that there was any ethnic division among the people. "It is the militant outfits who are instigating these clashes on ethnic pattern to take advantage of the situation," he said while stressing the need of understanding the ground situation.