LIFE BOMBARDED
Villagers near IAF firing range living in dread, inhaling chemicals, going deaf Shonaam TABRI DADA ITANAGAR, Apr 23: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman instilled a sense of security among the people of Arunachal Pradesh by announcing that seven more Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) will be built along the border with China. She made the announcement after air force drills in Pasighat and Dollungmukh as part of the Gagan Shakti exercise in April. But people of Dollungmukh Circle feel she ignored a problem they face -- disturbance due to the excessive firing practices by the Indian Air Force (IAF). The people of the circle, now under the newly-created Kamle district, have been enduring the sound and air pollution caused by the firing for more than four decades. Since 1975, they have also had to weather boundary dispute, illegal eviction and demolition of structures such as tourist lodge by Assam besides the impasse over the Subansiri power project. Dollungmukh...