Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig (Retd) Dr BD Mishra exhorted the Wancho Council – the apex body of the Wancho community – to persuade the “misguided” Wancho youths to come back and join the mainstream and make good use of the government’s rehabilitation package for their rehabilitation and earning a respectable livelihood.
The Governor made this tenacious call when the members of Wancho Council met him at Raj Bhavan here on Monday. “They discussed the impact of insurgency, and issues relating to public security, recruitment of Wancho youth in the Police and Army, and promotion of entrepreneurship and Start-ups,” a communiqué from the Raj Bhavan said.
The Governor, while appreciating the Wancho Council (of Longding district) for their recent rally against kidnapping-like activities of the insurgents, said that the people have to “rise against militancy” to facilitate development in their area.
He asked the Council to ensure that the “fund given for development must not be diverted for paying tax to UG organization and be fully used on the ground for the intended purpose”.
The Governor said that the Constitution of India has given separate individual identities to the Wancho community and they should not surrender the proud Wancho identity to NSCN (IM) motivated communities.
He called upon the community leaders to motivate the youth to go for entrepreneurship and pursue ‘Start-Up’ schemes. The Wancho youth must not sit idle indefinitely waiting for government jobs. Instead, they should stand on their own feet through pisciculture, horticulture, loin loom, handicrafts and other self-employment avenues and work hard to become capable of providing jobs for other youth, the Governor said.
Advising the Council members to persuade the Wancho insurgent youths to join the mainstream, the Governor asked them to consult their people and meet him in a month’s time with their village leaders with coverall proposals for bringing the underground youths back to the mainstream.
Earlier, the Wancho Council members led by their president Sompha Wangsa shared their problems, including security issues, the communique added.
