Villages without road offer 'shramdaan' for IAF service

Living without a motorable road, villagers at Vijaynagar, a hamlet situated at 4,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh, bordering Myanmar has taken recourse to ‘shramdaan’ (volunteer labour) for the landing of an IAF's transport aircraft.

IAF's transport aircraft AN-32 used to carry essential items to Vijaynagar mainly from Jorhat in eastern Assam but the service was stopped in 2016 due to the poor condition of the Advance Landing Ground (ALG).

The IAF, however, is using its helicopters to carry the essential items.

"The ALG is not fit for operations by fixed-wing aircraft since 2016. The IAF has taken up a project to repair the same. The repair work involves cleaning of the runway surface on which grass and moss had accumulated due to non-utilisation of the surface over a long duration. This required a large number of people as it is manpower oriented. So villagers from 11 villages came forward to volunteer to do the manual work by offering ‘shramdaan’.The service by the villagers is highly appreciated," IAF spokesperson based in Shillong, wing commander Ratnakar Singh told DH on Sunday.

The eastern air command is based in Shillong.

Vijaynagar, having a population of a little over 4,000, is situated in Southeastern part of Arunachal Pradesh's Changlang district. Since there is no motorable road yet, villagers either walk 175-km to Miao town bordering Assam or depend on IAF service. During the rainy season, 1 kg salt costs Rs 200 in Vijaynagar.

The grocery shops at Vijaynagar now depend on IAF helicopter services, which carry essential items as per requirement.

Of the seven ALGs in Arunachal Pradesh, which remained abandoned since 1962 Sino-Indian war, six have been upgraded recently by IAF for both defence and civilian uses at Tuting, Mechuka, Along, Wallong, Ziro, Tawang and Pasighat. Work on Vijaynagar was underway.