Imphal, December 06: Disconnected to Imphal or other parts of Manipur, people of 13 villages of Katang and surrounding area in Tousem sub-division of Tamenglong district have been heading to Nagaland for marketing and shopping and other purposes to the neighbouring State.

Here, all educational programmes, health facilities and other development schemes under the Tribal Development Department have turned out to be an unpalatable joke.

Katang is a frontier village of Manipur located about 20 kms north of Tamei sub-divisional Hqs.

Hemmed in by the Barak river and the Maguiki river, the Katang villagers are most vulnerable to diseases spread by mosquitoes.

But bad transport infrastructure or absence of it has been the worst misery of these hapless villagers.

The harsh reality of the Katang villagers came to light only when a team of reporters went to interior areas of Tamei sub-division along with members of the Information Centre for Hill Areas Manipur (ICHAM) recently.

Though the area is under Tousem sub-division, the most important means of communication for Katang villagers is the road leading to Tamei.

With the Barak river dividing the road, the villagers are unable to reach Tamei.

Support pillars erected for a bailey bridge across the Barak river has also been carried away by flood waters in 2004.On the other side, a bridge has been constructed across Maguiki river which serve as natural boundary between Nagaland and Manipur.

As such, one can travel to Tenning of Nagaland's Peren district and further till Jalukie sub-division.

Cut off by the Barak river from other parts of Manipur, people of Katang are depending on the neighbouring State for their requirements.

They also conveyed desire to make the road from Katang to tenning an inter-State route.

In emergency cases like illness etc, people either cross the Barak river on the makeshift hanging bridge to Tamei or go to Nagaland, said Katang village chairman D Douji Zeme.

Modern civic amenities, health care facilities educational infrastructure and development schemes of any sort still remain beyond the imagination of the villagers.

Neither Tribal Development schemes nor PDS items have their presence in the village.

Not a single Lower Primary School exists in Katang as well.

The surrounding villages like Impa, Old Katang, Inem, New Maguilong, Zingning, Felong, Namtiram, Teningjom etc are also caught in a similar static condition.

About 15,000 people are inhabiting the area bereft of even the most basic amenities.

From Katang, the joint team of ICHAM and media persons went to Lenglong, Konphung and Dikuram villages.

Some common features of these villagers are their vulnerability to malaria, pathetic transport infrastructure, lack of health care facilities, absence of educational infrastructure and exclusion from any scheme of the TD Department.

Nevertheless, the villagers were seen engaged in teak plantation on a substantial manner.

The area is bountifully endowed with horticulture products like banana and oranges.

Langmai and Tamah which are nearer to Tamei sub-divisional hqs are relatively better off.

But these two villages are not free from various infrastructural deficiencies and social backwardness.

At Tamei, ICHAM activists distributed rice and dal to orphans and disabled persons.

On their trip to interior areas of hills districts, ICHAM president Nongthombam Rajendro said that the trip was undertaken to bring about equitable development across the hills and valley of the State.

Last month, ICHAM went to Chingai sub-division and the journey was a success, he said.

In addition to going to interior areas, ICHAM is preparing to provide any information wanted by these villagers on development programmes and schemes, Rajendro said.

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