Altogether 52 Gaon Burhas (GBs) serving under Pangin and Kebang circles in newly-created Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh have tendered resignations from their posts in protest against the State Government’s move for shifting the district headquarters from Pangin (Perang-Lampang) to Boleng town under the district.
The Arunachal Government earlier issued notifications to set up the district headquarters of Siang at Pangin town, but the State Cabinet took a decision to shift the headquarters from the current location to Boleng without taking the local people of Pangin sub-division into confidence.
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The GBs said, “The process for shifting Siang district headquarters, which was already notified by the Government, is inconsistent, illegal and politically motivated.”
They are unhappy at the State Cabinet’s decision on March 12 this year to shift the headquarters from the current location to Boleng by superseding its earlier notification and without any valid reason, which they termed as an ‘imprudent act’ of the State Government. .
The foundation stone of Siang district headquarters was laid at Pangin town by former Arunachal Chief Minister Nabam Tuki three years back. Since then, district level offices of the newly created district have been functioning at Pangin without any halt.
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The GBs further said that the locals of Pangin donated their land for establishment of district headquarters at Pangin destroying their worthy property, but the authority is not realizing it.
“We have sacrificed a lot for establishment of the district headquarter at Pangin as per government notification. But, the state government has changed decision to shift the headquarter to other location without the people’s consent thereby betraying the local people,” lamented Pangin Head Gaon Burha, Tameng Messar.
The GBs submitted their resignations along with uniforms in the office of the Siang Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) on Monday. The GBs and several other local organizations have called for a 72-hour Pangin area bandh since August 28, 2018 morning and also cautioned the authority of indefinite movement if their demand is not reciprocated.
Siang ADC Tarik Talom, however, not yet accepted the resignations tendered by the GBs and urged them to shun such way of protest to fulfill a demand. Stating that the state government is not rigid over such decision, The ADC has requested protesting GBs to reconsider their decision.