New Delhi: During the mega “Gaganshakti” exercise that ended on Sunday, instead of taking pride in the ferocious roar of the IAF aircraft that swooped down to strafe or to drop some of the heaviest bombs used, spewing huge plumes of orange dust into the air, the mood among the locals from the villages situated near the Dollungmukh firing range was that of fear and anxiety.
“Many of the shrapnel from the bombs fall inside the villages. Injury or even death is just a question of luck and chance. Earlier, the IAF used small bombs but for the last few months they have been using very heavy bombs day and night. Whenever the IAF conducts such bombings, life becomes very difficult for the local people here,” said Tamar Murt-em, the local MLA from the area, adding that he-avy bombs create pond-sized holes on the ground.
Villages like Kherbari, Rajali, Midpu, Tanyo, Para, Lunsi and Rigyu lie in the close vicinity of the range which is located on the foothills near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
The Dollungmukh firing range saw one of the heaviest bombings by aircraft and ground firing during the exercise.
The IAF took the area on lease from the Nyishi tribe before setting up the firing range after 1975.
“But since those days, the population density of this area has risen by leaps and bounds. Because of the nearby Lower Subansiri hydro project, there has been an influx of labour from outside the state. There are at least about 10 schools in the vicinity of the range. For instance, the Dollungmukh school is just about 680 metres away from the range,” said Murtem who is from the ruling BJP.
Said Bini Noga, vice-president of the district students’ union: “The local people have been demanding the shifting of this firing range since 1992. We have also submitted memorandums to the CM and to Union home minister Kiren Rijiju on this issue. But no action has been taken till now”.
On the future plan of action, Noga, whose village is just half km away from the firing range, said: “It is so unsafe... We will go to Delhi in the first week of April to meet the defence minister on this issue”.
