Manipur Government’s orphan village– Waphong Inthan ~~ By RR INPUI
By Roman Riamroi Inpui | December 03, 2018
Waphong Inthan is one of the richest village among the Inpui Naga villages in terms of natural products. However, it is one of the most remote and poorest village today, which is located in Saitu Gampazol subdivision of Senapati District with a population of around 200, approximately 27 km from the heart of Imphal. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people here.
The village is surrounded by three major & minor rivers
i) Ta-ah (Ijei river) in the western side
ii) Lwangla kwa in the eastern side and
iii) Rwabwa kwa in the northern side
It is surprising that the villagers had to build their natural bamboo bridge which was inherited from their forefathers and it lasted longer than the bridges that were constructed by the Government of Manipur in State highways and National Highways. Its not funny. The Government takes around 10 years and these villagers took only one day to complete the bridge.
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What a pleasant surprise to tell the world that the Government of Manipur is not happy to help and has failed to do anything for the village.
Following points highlight the failure of Manipur Government in this regard:
Education: Amazingly, there is not even a primary school in the said village. Little kids are usually seen walking on foot for upto 3 km to attend classes in a private school next to the village. For higher studies, we have to walk around 27 kms.
It has also come into notice that the fund for primary school which was sponsored for the village had been siphoned off by people with malicious intent long time back.
Health care: There is no ASHA, no Anganwadi centre, no hospital and pharmacy. This indicates that a pregnant woman may have to walk 27 km on foot to deliver her child in a hospital! Well, the Government of India and Manipur must be held accountable for the sorry plight of this place.
Connectivity: Until a few years ago, the villagers used the Inthan Lampui or Kangchup road which was constructed by the British during their rule. In their time, iron bridges were also built for the villagers but these no more exists now.
The villagers have repeatedly requested the Government for construction of road and better connectivity but false promises is all they get.
Go to village Mission: This was apparently a good program launched by the Government of Manipur. We thought that this is specially for poor villagers like us. But it turned out to be contradictory to what it claimed. It was known that Government officials were not able to reach the village for the program which is ofcourse true. However, a few days after this, an MLA along with his colleagues came for fishing. What an irony!
Election: What we have is Government mockery but not democracy. There is no polling station provided in the village. Villagers have to walk around 19 km on foot or through any other means to cast their votes, most probably to a government who is least bothered about their plight.
The writer can be reached at romaninpui@gmail.com. He can also be connected on Facebook at Roman Riamroi Inpui
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