Why Arunachal's Tribals Want Air Force Bombing Range Out Of Dollungmukh

Dollungmukh, Arunachal Pradesh: The disturbing memories of the fateful morning of September 2, 1992 still haunt 55-year-old Bini Yajer from Midpu village in Arunachal Pradesh's Dollungmukh Circle, about 110 km from state capital Itanagar.

Ms Yajer's husband Bini Tabom was working in his field next to the Dollungmukh range of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the only one for its live fire exercises, including bombing drills in the northeast. That day, when bomb was dropped, Bini Tabom died of shrapnel injuries.

"That morning, we were in the field. As soon as the siren blew he told me to move away with our four kids since fighter bombing was about to take place. He told me that he will finish the work and come back. But he never came. After that I got no help from the government, only the local MLA, who was then a minister, gave us Rs 10,000," said Ms Yajer said.

For Yajer and others from 11 villages surrounding the IAF range, the horror returned.

On June 8, Bini Todum, a retired paramilitary man, was grievously injured and his home badly damaged when a fighter plane dropped a live bomb during a drill over Ruyu village. Mr Todum's home lies well outside the bombing range.

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Earlier, four mithun, a revered animal in Arunachal, were killed in a similar drill. About 3,000 people in Dollungmukh Circle are on protest demanding the range to be shifted.

"The intensity and frequency of the bombing has increased. Both citizens and animals have been affected. We have been protesting for a long time, but government didn't pay any heed. We understand the importance of such activities, but if people are getting affected, then what's the point. Citizen safety should come first," Bini Noga, student leader from Dollungmukh, told NDTV.

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Inside the range, splinters and shrapnel are scattered everywhere. Some villagers illegally cross border from Assam to collect these bomb remains. Shrapnel reach almost every house in the village here. The school building has fresh cracks, which locals claim, are due to bomb vibrations. If this was not enough, the villagers say, they have to suffer the deafening noise of the aircraft, including from the advanced Sukhoi 30.

Recently, the IAF conducted its biggest war preparedness exercise "Operation Gagan Shakti 2018" at this 4,150 sqkm range. The IAF map shows that only 365 sqkm of the range is with Arunachal Pradesh while 3,785 sqkm is in Assam. But the border itself is contested between the two states ever since the range was established 43 years ago when tribals leased out the land to the IAF.

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"The exercise is rampant and sudden now and there has been no interaction and intimation at the ground level. We don't know if the higher-ups are informed. This has been a major problem," said Koj Tacho, Circle Officer, Dollungmukh.

In its defence, the IAF says it's not bending any rules. "So far none of the bombs that the IAF aircrafts dropped have fallen out of the range area. We have been practicing here for the last 40-45 years. We have no plans of shifting the range from her. In fact, we are getting help from the government and recently, the Assam government got encroachments cleared," said Ratnakar Singh, Wing Commander, public relation officer, Eastern Command, IAF.

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While the IAF has ordered court of inquiry in the recent incidents, it has not been enough, say locals, who have been living in fear.

"When we were kids, the target area used to be far away. But now they have made the new target area which is close to tribal settlements," Kahma Bini, a resident of Dollungmukh, told NDTV.

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Over the years, the IAF has strengthened its defence on the Sino-Indian frontier, but the locals in Arunachal Pradesh, who have always stood by the forces, for once want them out of their land.