Arunachal: Thousand of people join solidarity rally in support of Sol Dodum at Seppa demanding clean water

Thousands of people join a solidarity rally organised by social Activist Sol Dodum in protest of the state government's alleged failure to supply safe drinking water to every household in his Seppa district.

As desired by the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh,  Pema Khandu, Minister of Sports & YA, Env & Forest, WRD- Mama Natung has invited Activist Sol Dodum for a meeting today to discuss the memorandum submitted by him to the Chief Minister. Officials from PHED will also attend the meeting. 

However, Sol Dodum turned down talks saying in front of the media that he will not talk in secret and wants to meet with Health Minister Bamang Felix in the presence of the media. He also says that he will only meet Chief Minister Khandu or Health Minister Bamang Felix.

Meanwhile, the Arunachal government refuses to entertain the demand of the activist. 

Earlier on Thursday, regarding the Sol Dodum dharna and the submission of Memorandum to the chief minister and home minister, Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu stated that he has not read the MoU yet and will surely look into it. After seeing the mass protest regarding the demand to provide clean water in Seppa township, he directed the concerned minister to look into the matter. The Chief Engineer was sent for on-ground verification and the report will be shared soon.

Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu also speaks on various issues while talking to the media. Chief ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh announced that the two Northeastern states will form district-level committees to resolve the longstanding border disputes in a time-bound manner. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have decided to constitute 12 district-level committees each in both the states, on the lines of the Assam-Meghalaya boundary dispute resolution mechanism.

Responding to the issue of road infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh CM stated, “Arunachal Pradesh is a hilly area and the monsoon started earlier this year. Due to the heavy rain, the young mountain of Himalayas became fragile but the construction and development work is underway. Deputy Commissioners and disaster management officers are working with full spirit to combat the issue”.

On 18th of April, social activist Sol Dodum completed a 225-kilometre walk to Itanagar in protest of the state government's alleged failure to supply safe drinking water to every household in his village.

On April 15, Sol Dodum set out from his birthplace of Seppa, the district capital of East Kameng district, which is located on the banks of the Kameng river, and arrived in Itanagar on Monday evening.

 Later, he sat on a demonstration in Itanagar, demanding that the state government finish work on the drinking water projects so that each household had safe drinking water.

 He alleged that officials from the public health engineering department engaged in corrupt practices, delaying progress on water supply projects in Seppa and exacerbating the people's battle for drinking water.