ITANAGAR: After a year-long sustained campaign of 'no road, no vote', some 4,000-odd villagers in Arunachal Pradesh have finally secured a road for themselves.That the strategically located Arunachal Pradesh is yet to extend road connectivity to most areas in the state has continued to garner attention, if not catalyze action. But the Kangku circle in Arunachal Pradesh's Lower Siang district is just 15 km from National Highway 15 in Assam and about 65 km from Likabali , the district headquarters. Despite that, a road connecting the 24 remote villages under the circle had always been a distant dream.So when the villagers' demands went unheard by those in power, they resorted to a tactical change - withhold participation in the very democratic process that had placed them in positions of power.Finally, the state's rural works department sanctioned a 65-km road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana , a government official confirmed, adding that the department hopes to finish the work soon."This is a dream come true for us. We have suffered a lot because of the lack of connectivity. Things get worse when there is a medical emergency or inter-state disputes break out," said Mikjom Taso, coordinator of the No Road No Vote Central Committee, which spearheaded the movement. The circle is along the Assam-Arunachal border.The campaign took off last year, right before the byelection to the Likabali assembly seat. Not a single voter turned out at five of the nine polling stations under the circle in protest against the "apathy" to a single demand.

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