TAWANG, Oct 27: “Policy towards border areas have changed for good since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. Lack of political will of the erstwhile government has changed into a commitment to develop all kinds of infrastructure for ease of life of the border people,” said Chief Minister Pema Khandu at Chuna, somewhere along the Tibet-China border in the high altitudes of Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh. 
Interacting with Indian army personnel guarding the remote border outpost, Khandu said development of border areas for ease of life not only of the villagers but also of army personnel is a priority of the state as well as the central government. He pointed that despite difficult terrain and harsh climatic conditions the pace of infrastructural development has accelerated in recent years.
He said earlier agencies like BRO, Indian Army, ITBP, state government departments, etc independently submitted their requirements for infrastructure development to the central government as per their own needs.
“Since a couple of years, we have started to coordinate and consult with each of these agencies and collectively submit proposals for border area development taking into consideration requirement of each agency. This way, it has become easier for the central government to decide and approve sanctions,” Khandu informed.
Expressing pride on presence of Arunachal Scouts in the Chuna sector, Khandu said they being sons of the soil are well acclimatized to the altitude and weather and accustomed to local customs and way of life.
He informed that the central government has in principle agreed to raise four more companies of Arunachal Scouts soon.
Starting from Tawang on October 24, Khandu first visited the Yangtse border post, which was recently in the news for a reported face-to-face between the Indian Army and PLA.
Khandu, on behalf of the countrymen, expressed deep gratitude to the jawans manning the post who challenged the reported ‘infiltration’ and forced the People's Liberation Army to withdraw.
“We are safe because you guard our borders with utmost sincerity. People of India, especially of Arunachal Pradesh and particularly of Tawang district will remain indebted to you all forever,” he said. Referring to the common request of army personnel as well as villagers for mobile connectivity, Khandu informed that recently the central government has approved and sanctioned installation of 980 4G mobile towers in the state. He assured first preference will be given to the border areas. 

He expressed hope that the army will continue to maintain the great rapport and bonhomie developed over the years with the local residents as more than often the latter depend on the army for emergency and daily needs.
“People living in the border areas are our first sentinels marking the start of our territory. Jawans and officers will go on transfer after a few years but the locals will stay here forever. Please keep on the cordial relationship with them and as and when you leave the place, enlighten your relievers to continue the tradition of civil-military relation,” Khandu urged.
During the border area tour, the Chief Minister accompanied by Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar (up to Yangtse) and Planning Commissioner Prashant Lokhande along with host of local administrative officers visited Tse Chu, Mago and Thingbu villages.
Responding to several issues raised by the villagers, Khandu assured to develop infrastructure of the government school and post sufficient number of teachers at Tse Chu. He highlighted the flagship programs like Sawch Bharat, Jal Jeevan Mission, PM Ujjwala Yojna, CMAYA, etc and urged the villagers to avail the benefits without fail. He directed the accompanying district officials to extend benefits of all welfare schemes and programmes to the people by facilitating these at their doorsteps. 
On Day 3 of the tour, the Chief Minister attended a COVID 19 vaccination camp at Mago, wherein 2nd dose of the vaccine were administered to 178 persons under the supervision of DIO Dr Rinchin Neema and medical team from CHC Jang.
Earlier, Khandu also visited Yangkee-1 border outpost, which hosts the holy Buddhist site of 108 waterfalls, Chumi Gyatse and paid tributes at the Chetry War Memorial at Tullung La.
The tour ended with a 10 km trek from Mago to Thingbu, Tuesday evening.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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