Ukhrul village takes up onus of developing border road
Source: The Sangai Express

SKIPE (Ukhrul), February 01 2009: Skipe is a small village of just 19 households located along the Indo-Myanmar International boundary in between border pillar no.95 and 96 in Kamjong sub-division of Ukhrul district.

Yet the people of this tiny hamlet have taken up the onus of developing the road in the border area to improve their lot along with embracing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) wholeheartedly.

A flagship programme of the UPA Government at the Centre, NREGS was launched in this tiny hamlet situated at a distance of around 40 kms from Kamjong Sub-Divisional headquarters in September last year.

The implementation of the scheme began along with issuing job cards to 19 villagers out of the total population 107 people in the village.

Two trees as natural boundaries with the background stretch in Myanmar and foreground in India

The only existing village road had been developed last year under the Border Area Development Programme with the villagers handing over the task of jungle cutting to the timber traders.

An interesting aspect of the village that The Sangai Express came across during a recent tour of the villages on the Manipur side of the Indo-Myanmar border is that hectic activities were on under NREGS to extend the road upto the to border point which is just short of a few kilometres from the village.

The villagers felt that the extension of the road upto Myanmar would be the solution to the present state of undervelopment in the village.

According to chief of the village C Jingsongam, for the first phase of implementing the scheme, the job card holders of the village have been sanctioned 30 days of work so far but the material component is yet to be received.

With the exception of Mango and Tamarind, the village has no products worth mentioning.

Nonetheless people of the neighbouring villages in Myanmar like Phailen, Tanan and Minta have been coming to Skipe or to other neighbouring villages passing through Skipe for purchasing Kerosene, Sugar and Salt while bringing Buffalos, Ping, Rice, fishes, etc for sale.

On the necessity for development and extension of the village road, the villagers informed that their daily household requirements specially rice is being bought from Minta village in Myanmar after walking on foot and from Minta there is transport service upto Moreh.

So development and extension of the road is essential.

The villagers expressed happiness that the development of the road is going to be materialised under NREGS atleast this time, even though the successive State Governments had not paid any attention to this regard for the last many years.

Once the road is developed, they hoped that it would be a boon not only for the timber trade which is striving in the area but also other economic activities.

It was learnt that the people of Skipe have been maintaining cordial relationship not only with the people of the neighbouring villages of Myanmar but also with Army and Police personnel who are posted in the area.

They participated together in social gathering and other festivities in the spirit of camaraderie.

The location of Skipe is positioned almost at the same level of Kabow valley and it boosts of rich forests of Teak, Khangra and other timbers.

However, rice has been the only essential commodity that the village has been acutely short of.

It is said that Skipe village has been closely associated with Jananeta Hijam Irabot.

While Irabot was in hiding at Kabow, he used to come down to the village and played volleyball with the villagers who still fondly remembered the departed leader.

During the course of the tour, the success of the NREGS had also been noticed in other border villages of Churachandpur, Chandel and Ukhrul district thus giving a new hope to the people.