People of Thiulon village under Tousem sub division of Tamenglong district have appealed to the state government to develop the site where a plane crashed during the Second World War as a historical place.
The site is one of the significant places in history as a plane was crashed in the village during Second World War on March 24, 1944, wherein eight people including the then major general Charles Orde Wingale lost their lives.
On February 3, a team of media persons visited the plane crash site in Thiulon. There was no sign of the state government taking up any initiative to develop the place as a historical site. People of the village appealed to the state government to take initiative in this regard.
During the visit organised by the All Manipur Working Journalists Union (AMWJU), a Church head of the village, Sangbonang Gonmei told media persons that though a historic incident occurred in the place, the state government has not taken any initiative to preserve the place till date.
The villagers along with some organisations have been organising death anniversary every year since 2017 without any support from the state government, he said.
He further said that due to lack of basic amenities starting from dilapidated road conditions to absence of guest houses, families of the departed might not be able to visit the village to even pay floral tributes.
“Developing the place as a historical site would not only preserve the place but would also promote tourism. Considering this, the state government should take some initiative for construction of said site as a historical place,” Sangbonang appealed.
ADC member executive of Tamenglong, Micah Panmei said that the villagers are preserving the debris of the plane crash found till date.
Though the fateful incident might be painful for the families of the victims of the crash, the incident has made the village known to the people despite being located in the interior part of Tamenglong, he said.
The ADC member executive also urged the state government to construct a resource centre or community centre in the said site so that the place could be preserved properly.
