Dimapur, June 22 (MExN): Head GB of Kakiho village under Dhansiripar Sub-division has refuted the statement of District Horticulture Officer Dimapur stating that the clarification given by the latter was all “cooked up”.
Kakiho Achumi, Head GB in a statement today refuted the claim of the DHO Dimapur that Achumi had been issued 600 nos of banana sapling, out of which only collected 300 saplings were collected and 250 planted.
A press note appended by Achumi stated: “But the fact remains that he had issued only 250 nos to me through one Temsu, an Inspector in the office of DHO and the same were received from one private agent ‘Biotech Company’ at 2½ Mile Dimapur. The remaining 350 nos saplings were never issued to me for reasons best known to him and later said that he will give Rs. 1500 to buy the remaining 350 saplings from the market. Till today we do not know in whose pocket the money went into.”
Achumi disclosed that earlier in January this year, the DHO along with his staff visited the village and told the villagers to clear 3 (three) hectares of land for banana plantation. The officer had further assured the villagers that he will issue banana saplings for 3 hectares, Achumi claimed. However despite the clearing of land as directed by the DHO, Achumi asserted that “nothing was heard from him” much to the dismay of the village.
The Head GB also disclosed that in May this year, the village approached the DHO to provide saplings. But due to shortage of banana saplings with the department as noted by the DHO the village were instructed to arrange the same from a private agency at a rate of Rs. 5 per sapling. However, Achumi alleged that money to purchase the same was not provided by the office of the DHO, despite the fact that the horticulture department had selected Kakiho village as one of the beneficiaries of banana sapling this year.
Achumi further stated: “If the DHO is bound to issue 1440 nos sapling as he has mentioned in his clarification note then why did he issued only 600 nos. On June 15 he instructed his Store Keeper, Tsiesele in a small piece of paper to issue only 600 nos of saplings.”
‘If the department does not provide the saplings then who will be responsible for the time, energy and money that the villagers have spent to ready 3 hectares of land for banana plantation,’ Achumi questioned. He further stated that the concerned department/officer should “compensate the loss” incurred by the villagers.
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