A PM’s visit after 9 yrs boosts morale of a ‘neglected’ state

Arunachal Pradesh probably is one state that does not always find space in the national media.

Arunachal Pradesh probably is one state that does not always find space in the national media. Politicians, including Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, say the state does not get enough coverage because it is “neither here nor there”. Neither is Arunachal Pradesh politically important — it has only two members in the Lok Sabha — nor does it have insurgent groups (like Assam, Nagaland or Manipur) which would generate news of violence and killings and grab some media headlines.

But it has been in the news for the past few days, especially after China renewed its claim over the state . This was followed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s historic trip to Beijing. And as MPs from the state raked up the issue of Chinese claims over its territory, the Prime Minister also came on a two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which incidentally was also a visit by a Prime Minister to the state after a gap of nine years. H D Deve Gowda was the last Prime Minister to have come to Itanagar.

What has been disturbing Arunachal for long is the ‘neglect’ by the Centre.Various developmental programmes — including Doordarshan programmes — do not reach the people who live close to the Chinese border. Hundreds of villages are yet to be connected by roads, while availability of PDS items is still a dream. Headquarters of different districts of the state are not interconnected by roads, forcing officials as well as citizens to travel through Assam. Healthcare too is not in good shape with the state running short of doctors. As for connectivity, the state happens to be on the Railways map just because it has only 1.26 km stretch of tracks inside it. Moreover, Arunachal does not have an airport of its own, which compels it to depend on irregular air services to Lilabari (near Lakhimpur, an Assam town about 90 minutes drive from Itanagar), or irregular helicopter services to Guwahati.

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The Prime Minister’s two-day visit, however, has come as a big boost to the morale of the state, especially after a huge sense of insecurity, triggered off by repeated claims by China, had spread across Arunachal.

Singh announced a massive developmental package for the state, running into over Rs 8,000 crore. But it is also equally important that Delhi ensures proper implementation of this package. Northeast’s experience with Central packages announced in the past has not been very pleasant.

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