With a population of around 700, people of Muallian village in East Jaiñtia district have been living a life of miseries.
Located about 38 kms from Khliehriat, the village under Saipung block plunged into darkness for four years, its water taps ran dry and no proper road connectivity.
According to Waheh shnong Lalramzauva Darnei and his secretary Eleazera Darnei the village was electrified in the past until in 2019, the power supply was cut off after a transformer broke down and till date the MeECL is yet to restore it.
As the majority of the residents in the village depend on farming, the villager leaders said, they cannot pay electricity bills and want authorities to issue bills monthly.
Muallian is parched as it is suffering severe shortage of water source. Darnei said the PHE department has placed water pipes but with no source, these have run dry. Villagers have to walk an average of about 20 to 30 minutes to fetch water from springs outside the village.
The waheh shnong suggested rain water harvesting to relieve people from the drudgery.
Adding to their woes is lack of proper road. According to Darnei, Muallian was the first village in Saipung area to be connected with a road in 1974, but authorities failed to maintain it ever since.
However, amidst the miseries there’s a silver lining for the village. Darnei said, Santa Mary Shylla, the newly elected MLA spent Rs 35 lakh to repair the road in December last year.
Villagers are now pinning their hopes on their new representative.
