Itanagar: Underscoring the state government’s concern for development of the remote district of Anjaw bordering China, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday said that a special scheme of ‘Model Village’ has been recently launched that aims to develop selected border villages with all facilities by dovetailing various central and state government schemes.
“The scheme will be implemented in a larger extent in coming years but as of yet we have selected only three villages under it. You may be pleased to know that all the three villages are in Anjaw. These are Kaho, Musai and Kibithoo,” Khandu disclosed while speaking at a public function at Hawai, the headquarters of Anjaw district.
It may be mentioned here that the state government, in a bid to stop migration of border people to urban centers in search of greener pastures, had announced in this year’s budget to develop three Model villages in the Indo-China border areas on a pilot basis, for which Rs 30 crore was allocated.
Khandu, who was on a two-day visit to the district, admitted the significance of mobile connectivity in the remote district as asked for the same by public leaders, organizations and villagers alike.
“I understand the need of digital connectivity in today’s world, especially in an area where road connectivity is difficult and time taking. I promise I will bring along digital connectivity in my next
visit, which I assure will be soon,” he said.
The Chief Minister observed that people of the district, who live in a difficult but productive region and are very hardworking, can benefit from digital connectivity, which has emerged as one of the best marketing platforms of the commercial world.
He assured the border district its fair share of 4G towers from the 980 towers sanctioned by the Central Government. “Tender for installation of these 4G towers has been bagged by Airtel and the company will soon start work on ground,” Khandu informed.
He further informed that the double-lane road from Hawai towards Kibithoo will be executed by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) and appealed to the people not to put unnecessary hurdles in its construction in the name of land compensation.
Khandu said, once road connectivity is in place, Anjaw could very well be on its way to become one of the hottest tourist destinations of the country. “Road connectivity along with digital connectivity can change the very face of Anjaw and enrich the people here -both economically and physically. So, please help in its construction by not becoming impediments,” he appealed.
Khandu inaugurated the newly-constructed Govt Higher Secondary School building, office of Executive Engineer, Urban Development, a children’s park and the memorial of former Chief Minister Late Kalikho Pul. He also inspected the under construction Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) at Hawai. On Wednesday, he inaugurated the new ADC office building and a guest house at Hayuliang, sources added.
