Tale of two villages

By Staff Reporter
NARI-KOYU, Oct 5: The Assembly election is sweeping the entire State with all kinds of controversies. The Jote and Hippo villages, under the administrative jurisdiction of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Basar in West Siang district, are witnessing a kind of identity crisis never heard before. According to official reports, the administrative jurisdiction of the two villages of Jote and Hippo falls within the purview of the ADC of Basar, whereas in this ongoing election process the villages are listed under Nari circle of East Siang district.

The Sentinel Arunachal has a copy of the report (No BSR/09/911 dated September 9, 2009), submitted by Basar ADC Ameya Abhyankar to the District Election Officer of West Siang, wherein the Basar ADC reported: ‘Hippo village was not a recognized census village either in West Siang or in East Siang. Thus, the setting up of a new polling station at an unrecognized census village was unjustified. Electoral rolls, as per the Election Commission, show 19 males and 15 females in Hippo and this village falls under 36 Nari-Koyu Assembly segment.’

Reportedly, same is the case with the other village called Jote, which incidentally has the same number of voters. It is also reported that a few of these voters are enlisted as voters in both Basar Assembly segment as well Nari-Koyu Assembly segment.

When Sentinel Arunachal enquired about this, West Siang DC Amjad Tak said , ‘The matter had been discussed with the Chief Secretary. And the Government would take a decision on the administrative jurisdiction of the villages after the elections. Till such time, for election purposes, these villages shall be under Nari-Koyu Assembly segment’.

The added twist to this case is that the party workers of NCP have opposed this decision on two counts. Firstly, since Hippo and Jote villages have always been part of West Siang, adding Hippo in East Siang smacks of an ulterior motive. And secondly, since administratively the villages were always under West Siang, they should have remained in the Basar Assembly segment of West Siang and not in the Nari Koyu Assembly segment of the other district.

The Nari-Koyu Assembly segment has one of the lowest voter densities with only 6,844 voters and therefore even 34 voters could change the poll scenario. THE SENTINEL