Shillong, Feb. 25: Lyngkhat, a village tucked away in the hills of the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya, does not expect much from the Assembly polls. With a range of problems staring them in the face, the villagers have all but resigned themselves to the existing state of affairs.

Located 3 km from Pyrdiwah, the scene of Bangladeshi occupation two years ago, Lyngkhat falls under Nongskhen constituency in East Khasi Hills and is quite the antithesis of its neighbour.

While Pyrdiwah has, since then, witnessed a flurry of development activities, Lyngkhat, comprising a mixed population of about 150, has only one teacher to cater to about 80 students, and that, too, in a school which has only up to the fourth standard.

Though officials had surveyed the area for electrification some time ago, electricity is yet to reach the village and the residents have to travel 15 km to visit a doctor in Dawki.

“Nobody is interested in addressing our issues and political activists come here only once in five years during the elections,” an elderly resident complained, pointing to the posters that have been put up at a nearby shop.

He, however, added that this year’s elections had generated more interest among the electorate than the previous polls.

“This time, the campaigning has been more than the 1998 polls, with more candidates visiting our village and more posters being put up,” he added.

Lyngkhat has very few voters as an estimated 50 people are still trying to secure their rightful place in the Indian electoral system.

“We were denied the right to vote in the last elections even though my parents were allowed to exercise their franchise. Applications to all the higher authorities have not yielded any result, as the MLA is not interested in taking up the matter,” said another villager, who claimed to have been a resident of the village since “time immemorial.”

He added that a certificate from the village headman, providing proof of their domicile in the village since 1954, had also not worked.

“So a lawyer has been contacted to take up our case at the concerned places,” he said. Investigation revealed that those who had been denied the right to vote were mostly non-tribals, who, according to the secretary to the headman, had been living in the village for years.

The residents admit that Lyngkhat has, over the years, become a major smuggling hub and poor communication with the rest of the state, coupled with other problems, have forced them to depend on the other side of the border for “exchange of goods”.

However, what is most palpable is the insecurity that has gripped the minds of the villagers who earn their livelihood through farming and trade. “The villagers are most afraid of people from across the border coming and stealing or grabbing our land,” said a resident.

The villagers are also wary and suspicious of the BSF, who they allege are hostile towards them.

One villager even accused the BSF of imposing restrictions on shopkeepers.

Similar complaints about the BSF, which has recently raised its strength to 40 companies along the border, emanate from Kongwang, another village located several miles away.

However, senior BSF officials said attempts to check illegal trade by security personnel had antagonised the villagers.

“In fact, we had to eradicate a market that thrived on barter of goods from across the border. Lyngkhat has traditionally been a smuggling hub,” said B.K. Dey Sawian, BSF inspector-general.

Pyrdiwah, on the other hand, enjoys a good rapport with the BSF as the residents are said to have reaped “immense benefits” after the intrusion by the Bangladeshi forces.

This included a compensation of Rs 10,000 for every family, building materials and electrification for the whole village.

The only issue that connects the two villages is the absence of voting rights of all the residents.