Kangku: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday appealed to the people of Lower Siang district to accept the decision of the state government on demarcation of its administrative boundary with East Siang and its permanent headquarters at Siji.
Joining the Silver Jubilee Mopin celebration at Hime in Kangku circle of the district, Khandu said that Lower Siang was created way back in the year 2013 along with Namsai, Kra Daadi and Siang but couldn’t be developed at par with its contemporaries due to several issues.
“Enough is enough. We had to bring in a permanent solution with a decision, taking consensus of all involved and affected. Leaving behind all these issues now we have to focus on development of the district,” he said.
Khandu assured that he is in regular touch with legislators Kento Rina and Kardo Nyikyor of the two assembly constituencies – Nari and Likabali – that constitutes Lower Siang.
“In consultation with both the MLAs, we will ensure all-round development of the district. People here have suffered enough,” he said.
Appreciating the Galos for preserving their culture through thick and thin, Khandu reiterated the importance of celebrating indigenous festivals in its traditional sense. He emphasized that if not properly maintained and passed on to the next generation, indigenous cultures of the state would wane away in the future, which, he asserted, will discard Arunachal’s distinct identity.
“One fine day we will leave this world. Therefore, we need to hand over our culture and tradition to the next generation so that even if we die, our culture never dies,” he emphasized.
Khandu on the occasion also hailed Mishing Autonomous Council chairman Paramananda Chayengia who joined the celebrations for addressing the festival in his native dialect, Mishing. The chief minister said being able to speak in native language is the first and strongest step towards preserving culture.
“Being able to speak in English or Hindi does not enhance your status. Being able to speak your mother-tongue will grow your status in the society manifold,” he said.
Khandu informed the state government through the department of indigenous affairs and in collaboration with prominent community based organizations of the state, has so far introduced teaching of eight local dialects in primary level schools.
Work is going on to introduce the rest of the indigenous languages in schools, he said.
Advocating for improving the rural economy, the chief minister called upon the villagers to avail government schemes like Atmanirbhar Krishi Yojana and Atmanirbhar Bagwani Yojana introduced last year.
He revealed Rs 200 crore – 100 crore for each scheme – has been kept in the current budget and urged farmers, especially the self help groups and farmer producer organizations to avail the schemes.
Among others, the celebration was also attended by agriculture minister Tage Taki, legislators Kardo Nyikyor, Gokar Basar, Kento Rina and Laisam Simai, representatives of Galo Welfare Society (GWS) and various Mishing organizations.
