Majuli (Assam) [India], December 10 : As Assam observed Martyrs' Day on Wednesday, the family of Majuli's only member who laid down his life in the 1983 Assam Movement, Dandiram Bharali, has appealed to the government for proper road connectivity and basic transport facilities.
Despite being one of the 855 deceased activists who laid down their lives during the historic movement, his family continues to live in difficult conditions due to the absence of a motorable road to their residence.
The old house of martyr Bharali can only be reached through muddy, waterlogged paths in the middle of paddy fields. Except for the 108 ambulance service, even two-wheelers cannot access the area, severely affecting the family's daily life. A school-going child from the household often misses classes and examinations due to the deplorable road conditions.
Speaking to ANI, Nagen Chandra Bharali, the late activist's brother, said, "Dandiram Bharali was the only martyr from Majuli during the 1983 Assam Movement. We don't need a gate in his name like other martyr families have--we just need a proper road. Our children are deprived of education, and even ambulances cannot reach us. Despite repeated appeals, we have received no support. People remember us only on Martyrs' Day, but our struggles continue throughout the year."
Julie Bharali, another family member, said to ANI, "You have seen our old house and how we live. We have no proper road, no ambulance service. We request the government to improve transportation and communication facilities for us."
Local youth Pranabjyoti Barik told ANI, "Since there is no road to the martyr's residence, the family cannot even attend felicitation programmes organised by the district administration on Martyrs' Day. Even the family's students face immense difficulty attending school. Authorities must not remember them only for a day; we urge the administration to ensure proper connectivity."
Despite multiple governments in power over the decades, the family's plea for a proper road remains unaddressed. On Martyrs' Day, the family has once again renewed its appeal to the government for immediate intervention to ease their long-standing hardships.
Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday urged people "not to employ or sell land" to any "unknown people" in the state during the inuaguration of Swahid Smarak in Boragaon, Guwahati, on the occasion of the Martyrs' Day of the Assam Movement.
Assam CM dedicated the Swahid Smarak to the "martyrs" who stood up against the infiltrators who entered Assam from Bangladesh in 1979.
"We laid the foundation stone of Jatiya Swahid Smarak on 10 December 2019. Sarbananda Sonowal was the Chief Minister at that time. Today, we have dedicated a beautiful Swahid Smarak in memory of the martyrs of the Assam Movement," he said.
"December 10 is a holy day for us, a day to take a new resolution. I urge the people of Assam and the country not to sell your land to unknown people. Don't give jobs to unknown people in your industries, business establishments and don't bring unknown people to cultivate in your lands," Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Assam CM further informed about the construction of an auditorium at the time and outlined a plan for a digital library.
"An auditorium with a capacity of 500 seats is being constructed here. I have a dream to construct a digital library of the Assam Movement and Assamese History where we can see the 5000-year-old history of our community," he said.
According to the Chief Minister, the Swahid Smarak and Swahid Stamba were built for Rs 170 crore over more than 150 bighas of land at Pachim Boragaon.