Plight of West Karbi Anglong’s hill dwellers: A tale of neglected development

In the remote hills of West Karbi Anglong, development remains a distant dream, with residents continuing to battle daily hardships in the absence of basic infrastructure. 

The Amreng MAC constituency, marked by its rugged terrain and poor connectivity, stands as a stark reminder of decades of neglect.

A recent incident from Rongmanpi village captured the grim reality. A woman, Chati Tissopi, fell critically ill and had to be carried on a makeshift stretcher through dense jungle paths to reach Jerikinding Primary Health Centre. 

With no motorable roads or proper bridges, villagers routinely depend on precarious bamboo crossings over the Amreng and Am-ei rivers—risking their lives each time they seek essential medical services.

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For the people of the hills, such ordeals are not isolated cases but part of everyday existence. The absence of all-weather roads, healthcare access, and reliable infrastructure has left many feeling abandoned, as successive promises of development have failed to materialize on the ground.

Discontent is now mounting, with local communities voicing urgent calls for government intervention. Villagers say they are tired of being treated as second-class citizens, cut off from opportunities and facilities that are readily available elsewhere in the state.

Until concrete steps are taken, the people of West Karbi Anglong remain caught in a cycle of neglect, clinging to hope that their voices will finally reach those in power.