Where Development Struggles to Climb the Hills
Unless ground implementation welfare measures improves, remote villagers may continue living outside the reach of schemes that exist only on paper.
Key Snapshot
- Location: Hazra Para, Kankrachhara TTAADC Village, Teliamura in Khowai District of Tripura
- Government Scheme Involved: Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
Main Challenge:
- Inability to afford LPG refills; lack of basic civic infrastructure
- Affected Population: Tribal residents of Mungiakami RD Block under Krishnapur Assembly Constituency
Future Risk: Continued developmental stagnation and widening rural inequality.
Teliamura, Nov 18: If current conditions persist, Hazra Para in Kankrachhara TTAADC Village may continue to stand as a geographical reminder that development announcements do not always reach the hills.
Despite various schemes reaching the region in name, real transformation has yet to become visible in daily life, locals alleged.
Background and Present Reality
The centuries-old lifestyle of Hazra Para still revolves around the forests. Villagers continue collecting firewood for cooking, even after receiving LPG connections under the Ujjwala scheme.
The inability to afford monthly refills has forced many families to return to traditional fuel sources, an indication that future benefits may continue to bypass them without financial support mechanisms.
One resident summed up their reality and future uncertainty:
“We have received the gas connection, but where do we get the money to refill the cylinder? So we go back to the forest… the smoke burns our eyes, but we have no choice.”
Such voices reflect the possibility that unless affordability challenges are resolved, Ujjwala may remain a partially realized promise in many rural pockets.
Administrative Disconnect and Political Frustration
Locals allege that administrative engagement remains minimal or ineffective. Even as the hamlet is under the TTAADC, ruled by TIPRA Motha, the village has reportedly seen no visible improvement in living standards.
Villagers claim that while crores of rupees are officially sanctioned for TTAADC development, not even a fraction appears to reach them on the ground.
Residents point out that while local BJP leaders have allegedly visited and interacted, TIPRA Motha leaders — despite using the same road daily—have reportedly not stopped to listen to the plights and grievances of the inhabitants.
If such political distance continues, the trust deficit may deepen in the years ahead, leaving communities further alienated from local governance.
Major Civic Challenges with Future Implications
For Hazra Para, the biggest daily struggle is drinking water. With no piped water supply, women and the elderly spend hours climbing hills to fetch water — a practice that becomes nearly impossible during the dry season when springs vanish.
Other challenges remain equally pressing:
Irregular electricity supply
Limited medical facilities
Weak educational infrastructure
Unless these foundational issues are addressed, the future of the region risks becoming a continuation of its past — isolated, overlooked, and without sustained support.
Symbol of a Larger Reality
Even though government schemes have technically reached the area, their impact has not. Hazra Para has increasingly come to represent a wider trend in the Teliamura subdivision — where development promises exist, but measurable progress does not.
An elderly resident voiced a sentiment that may define the narrative unless systemic change arrives:
“We only hear that the government is doing development. But here in the hills, we have not felt its breeze yet.”
If ground implementation does not improve, Hazra Para may continue to symbolize a future where development travels the roads of paperwork, but not the pathways of rural life.
