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Locals and church construct bridge to connect Chin state and Mizoram |
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Written by Admin
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Sunday, 19 March 2006 |
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9 March 2006: In order to offer better connectivity between villages and allow access to Mizoram, the Mara Evangelical Church in Burma, six villages of Matupi township Chin state and local village authorities have joined hands to construct a bridge. Ironically no help is forthcoming from the Burmese military government.
The 300 feet long bridge is under construction with material provided by the Mara Evangelical Church (MEC) and local village authorities. The bridge will connect Mala and Para village in Matupi Township, Chin state. People of six villages in the region have thrown themselves wholeheartedly in to the bridge construction project since the last week of February. Villagers belonging to Mala, Para, Lailenpi, Lailente, Sabawngpi and Hlopi villages have volunteered in the construction.
The metal frame bridge will serve to provide better and easier passage between villages in the region and easier access to Mizoram state, India in the monsoon months.
A resident of Para told Khonumthung, “Rivers rise in monsoon, making interaction between villages almost impossible. The bridge will help provide easy passage between villages in Matupi Township and to Mizoram in monsoon.”
Communication is frequently disrupted between the two headquarters of MEC in Sabawngpi and Lailenpi in monsoon. The joint construction will bridge the communication gap and also provide easy access to Mizoram from where villagers near the border can acquire essential commodities.
The Para villager told Khonumthung, “There is hardly any expectation among us from the government in terms of funding to construct the much needed bridge, and so, the local people and the church took up the challenge.”
The church is funding the metal components required for the construction of the bridge while Para village is providing the required wood. Villagers have substituted saw men in their jhum areas and are busy collecting and sawing the wood for the bridge.
The plan to construct the bridge was conceived earlier but it took time to materialize because of lack of funds. Given that it is a remote area, government funds for the construction of the bridge has been ruled out. -KNG source:http://www.khonumthung.com/
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 19 March 2006 )
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