Laika-Rigbi (Tinsukia), June 14: The Tarun Gogoi-led state government may have been tom-toming its achievements during the past four years, but a journey to Laika, a small forest village located in the interiors of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, will be a eye-opener.

The village untouched by development, is reminiscentof the ancient tribes of the Andaman islands, who being cut off from the mainland, had no contact with the modern civilisation.

The village with a population of around 6,000 is divided into three components ? Laika Pamua, Laika Rigbi and Laika Fasidia.

?We have been left to fend for ourselves, the government does not exist for us,? said Kower Pegu, one of the villagers.There are two forest villages in the core area of the national park ? Laika and Dodhia. The total population of these two villages is approximately 13,000.

Just reaching the village is a gargantuan task because one will have to cross the Dibru river upstream from Guijan ghat (15 km from Tinsukia town) and then criss-cross through various channels of the Brahmaputra, Dangori and Dholla rivers to reach the destination. The ordeal takes around four hours.

?We live like animals. We have not been provided with even the basic amenities but we suffer the most during the monsoons when the rivers are flooded and we cannot venture out. We are just stranded. Last year the devastating floods almost wiped out our cattle population,? said 68-year-old Sitaram Lagasu, the village head.

Both villages lack healthcare facilities. To visit a doctor, villagers have to cross several water routes to reach either Guijan or Tinsukia. The journey is not only risky and expensive, but also very time- consuming. In most cases, patients die before reaching the hospital.

?We had a health sub-centre in the Seventies but it was damaged in the floods that very decade. Since then, there has been no doctor here. We still depend on traditional methods of treatment, which sometimes costs us our lives. How we can survive like this?? Lagasu said.

The villagers are denied several basic amenities such as electricity and water.

water facilities. The Mising tribe, which dominates the three villages, makes a living by rearing buffaloes, cows and pigs. But sadly, there is no provision for a vet.