The Imphal Free Press

LAMKA, July 8: The consultative meeting held under the aegis of Zomi Economic Planning and Development Agency (ZEPADA) at Synod Hall, Churachandpur has been attended by most heads of department, leaders of various NGOs apart from others.

Not only taking serious note of the impending famine in consequences to bamboo flowering in Churachandpur district, the catastrophic process of which has started already, members present and most resource persons dig deeper by bringing out the issue of contraints to substaintiate growth and development.

During the discourse, outdated practices of shifting cultivation which is unreliable and for that matter an annual average family income which should not cross Rs 2500-5000 has been held responsible for constraints to substainable growth and development amongst the tribals.

Though farmers wanted to undertake annual and perennial cash crop cultivation there is nil supply of food/rice to act as a temporary substitute, said charimen of ZEPADA.

On top of this bodies like TRIFED, an agri cooperative & marketing federation based at Delhi has not been in operation yet into the soil of our land, he said adding lack of road communication, electricity, education, medical facilities have stood in the way of such ventures.

Even if all these factors are met, marketing facilities are none existent besides other insurgency problems that has to be tided over with great difficulty has acted as impediments to such a step, another participant said questioning as to what could be done to avert the pressing need of facing famine in the immediate future.

On the face of such uncertain future, the meeting adopted a resolution according to which the district is to start nonviolent agitation against government authorities for not making available of the district quotas of PDS items, find alternative means to shifting cultivation, condemn politicians for their uncaring attitude for the public they represents amongst others.

Members present in the meeting have also issued a declaration as per which the state government has been urged to install effective PDS for the district, to explore avenues for remunerative and viable alternatives to the redundant yet traditional practices of shifting cultivation prevalent in the land by adopting a multi pronged initiatives besides others.  

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