Driving on the first-ever road to remote Tali in Arunachal

Wind-swept Tali Lopo sits on a ridge in the Eastern Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh. Caught in time as India moved forward, this is the only assembly constituency, which was yet to be connected by road, until now.

On the 25^th of February 2023, chief minister Pema Khandu drove up to fulfil a promise he made in 2017. Some wept seeing the VIP cavalcade enter their village for the first time. “I felt like crying and cried,” says gaon bura, Jikke Lonkia from Nobia village, which is still half a day’s march away. He hopes his village will be connected soon.

Tali was established in 1957 and the fact that it took over 60 years to build a 51 km road must find an entry into the Guinness Book of world records. The 16000-odd population waited for development and when it took so long majority of them took off to other towns and cities.

“Till about 2007, Airforce AN-32 aircraft used to airdrop ration to Tali,” says Jikke Tako, MLA Tali-20 constituency. It has been a four-year mission for him to get on the road. During elections, helicopters were used.

It is one of the pet projects of chief minister Pema Khandu. “I am proud. I promised the people of Tali that I would come by road when I visited in 2017 by chopper. I have kept that promise. This is historic,” he says, as his vehicle slowly winds up the mountain roads. Some sections are complete and work on other sections is still on.

Khandu gets particularly worried about the first stretch of the 15 km road to Yangte village from the Joram-Koloriang highway, which connects Tali. “When MLA of Palin, Balo Raja asked the driver to take that road, I thought we were going to see a construction site. The road was that bad, it reminded me of old Arunachal Pradesh,” he laughs.

At the Yangte public function, he assures the people that the repair will start soon, “I promise to have this 15-km road improved and widened by next year.” Crowds are overjoyed.

Lunch is by the Kumey river, a few kilometres offroad only accessible on a four-wheel drive. The villagers have erected a beautiful bamboo platform almost in the middle of the river. A traditional engineering marvel.

Our host businessman, Taha Tagru and his wives have prepared a sumptuous traditional feast. The food is organic and fresh here.

The river is teeming with fish. I meet a young lad, Tachang Majik, who says his family owns the lands here. He is hopeful of starting river tourism. “The youth need to come back and do something meaningful here. It’s high time,” he says.

The bridge over river Kumey was vital to the mission to connect Tali. The first one — a bailey suspension bridge built at a cost of Rs 14 crore — was destroyed in a landslide in 2019, six months after completion. The reconstruction which started  in 2020 ended in disaster – on 28^th March 2021, the under-construction bridge collapsed. “I went into depression and thought my dream of connecting Tali with the rest of the world would never come true. I felt cursed,” says Tali constituency MLA Jikke Tako.

Faulty construction could have been the reason. The third one was finally inaugurated on 25^th February 2023 and stands strong till this report was filed.

As the CM’s cavalcade crosses the bridge, young superintendent of police Dusu Kaling is cautious, only allowing a few vehicles at a time. “We have to be careful of the load,” he says as he waves us across.

MLA Jikke Tako used to struggle to reach his constituency. Walking, crossing the river in a boat and covering the rest of it on tractors and earthmovers.

“My entire tenure of four years was spent building this bridge and road. It’s been many decades, who will you blame? Corruption? But I let bygones and bygones. The road has been built now,” he says.  

“We used to sit in the bucket of the earthmover, its scary on a turn as we are hanging by the cliff,” he says. He also survived a tractor accident.

When we reach Tali it’s almost dark, the sun sets early in the land of the rising sun. People have gathered on both sides of the road to welcome their champion, the chief minister who delivered on his promise. Few politicians have kept their word in a land that has been cut off for decades.

No one will tell how much was spent all these years on a road that should have been completed many years ago. “No estimate, must run into several crores as many governments came to power, but we would like to focus on the future of Tali,” says Pema Khandu.

The road and the bridge inauguration coincided with the Nyokum festival of the Nyishis, the dominant tribe in this region. They left no stone unturned in celebrating with pomp and style.

The evening saw a competition to choose miss Nyokum Tali 2023. The participants have returned to Tali from the city to participate. “All of them belong to this constituency and are studying outside,” says an organiser.

The stage was in contrast to the slush and mud outside the venue. The participants wowed the crowds and walked the ramp in their fancy gowns, swaying to the latest beats, in their pointy heels as crowds in muddy gumboots watched in awe. Miss Tali was crowned at 2 am. We were fast asleep in our tent.

The concluding day of the Nyokum festival starts with a blessing by the Nyibu (shaman) at his hut. The women smear rice paste on our faces. We are offered a customary drink and some food. “There have been no rains this year for the two auspicious days. Otherwise there is always rain. We must thank the shaman for this. This is unusual but a good sign. The gods are happy,” says a village elder.

At the public celebration, a Mithun is tied at the altar for sacrifice later. Tali residents have come from far and wide. The majority are from the capital Itanagar for an annual trip to their roots. There are others who have walked for two days or more to reach Tali circle headquarters from the 70-odd villages.

All politicians are in attendance; present, past, current and future. Politics is fierce in this constituency of a little over 16,000 people. Violence and cash for votes is common. This time, however, everyone has come together to celebrate. Leaders swore allegiance to their chief minister and promises were made.

Thaji Gichik Kiogi, who fought elections against current MLA Jikke Tako, has the audience in splits, “Mistakes were made but no more. We will all work towards development of Tali.” Rughu Tado, former MLA calls for an end to the violence of cash for votes.

There is an understanding – no one wants to play the blame game, not today. No one is responsible for the delay in building the road to Tali.

When the Chief minister walked up to the podium, he asked those who had come from Itanagar to raise their hands. Nearly all hands were up. The village is a ghost town as nearly 80% of the people have moved to the capital Itanagar.

“Our people go for medical treatment and other work. Once they see the city lights they never come back,” says a young boy. The MLA has started a campaign to get people back to their roots, and so far four have responded. Jikke Tako proudly introduces them. Pema Khandu also appeals to the crowd to build a house in Tali to come back to.  

It takes two days on foot to get to the hamlet of Pipsorang, circle headquarters. Work to connect it with Tali is on in full swing. We drive till the last point of construction – a bunch of women are headed home carrying heavy loads in wicker baskets. The CM stops to weigh their baggage. “Must be over 50 kgs,” he says, attempting to lift the basket.

I meet a woman carrying a basket full of Pepsi. When she reaches home, each bottle will fetch a princely sum of Rs 300. At Pipsorang, a bag of cement costs Rs 7000. Nyishis love their Pepsi, but that is a story for another day.  

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