Silchar : Communication is an indicator of development. But for Barak valley, it is just a story of sheer neglect and apathy. Whether it is Railway or Road Communication, the valley remains cut-off for most of the seasons from the rest of the country, thereby contributing to the worries and sufferings of common people.
All main roads & railway lines starting from Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, & Bangladesh border merges at nerve centre,Silchar and thereafter a common road & railway line connects the region with rest of the Assam & the country. Thus Silchar, the biggest town of the valley assumed significance as a centre of communication, a commercial hub & gateway for this region. Hence, disrupted communication of the valley has a corresponding effect upon the entire region. Trade, commerce and intercourse at all levels : intra-state , inter-state & international iseffected by this communication resulting into price rise, economic backwardness and host of other problems .
Nizam Ahmed, a truck driver from Silchar while expressing his frustration says, “Meghalaya, Mizoram & Tripura Govt. could built such costly road communication networks in their respective hill states. Govt. of Assam could do little for Barak planes. Take a trip to this region, disparity will be noticeable between Barakplanes & surrounding states as well as between Barak planes & rest of the Assam.” Satindra Mohan Nath, a senior citizen & freedom fighter from Karimganj did not even spare a senior political leader of the valley as well as the Govt of Assam on this issue. This ninety years old gentleman says, “A foreign government could connect the valley with the mainland by railway lines in a record time, but our own Govt could not advance the work of B.G line even after a lapse of nearly three decades. The central Govt. has been magnanimous in sanctioning adequate grants for the work but it is the state govt which found this as a rich source to drain out the central exchequer with the pretext of underground problems. Even the most influential political leader in power at the center from the valley kept quiet on this burning problem of the region .”
Prior to the construction of BG line from Guwahati to Lumding one could directly travel from Silchar to Guwahati without transshipment at Lumding . Further, work undertaken for BG line from Lumding to Silchar at such a slow pace has been responsible for irregular running of meterguage trains. As a result of both inconveniences and uncertainties, passangers from this region forced to travel by buses via long ,costly and risky Meghalayan route to their misery but at the delight of private transporters .
Josanga Verte, a politician & formar MNF cadre from Mizoram commenting on the road conditions of the Valley says, “ People of Barak valley deserve salutation for displaying so much patience, tolerance, maturity and peace without even raising a protest for its longstanding neglect to their problems. This kind of long drawn indifference and neglect is responsible for social unrest and creation of insurgency .”
Whatever may be the opinion of different peoples on this issue, one thing is sure that the peace loving people of the valley are feeling it to be a high time to organize themselves for a mass non-violent movement with such an intensity & magnitude with it’s epic centre at silchar while its tremors felt at all effected peripheral states. They desire a relentless united pursuit of their movement till the time their voice is effectively heard by Delhi & Dispur and echoed with positive hope followed by the effective implementation of demand for early & improved surface communication of the valley. There is a popular proverb in regional Bengali dialect of the valley “Mothers feed only when babies cry.” What to talk about the govt, even the most affectionate mother do forget to feed till the time baby raised a voice of cry. People of the valley are in a mood today to raise a united peaceful voice so that the mother India on hearing their cry feed them.”
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