Just 35 families remain at Niti village near China border

DEHRADUN: As villages along the international border in Uttarakhand face out-migration on an unprecedented scale, uninhabited areas lie open to territorial claims by the Chinese. Niti is among the last Indian villages, just 26 km from the China border, 3,600 metres above sea level. Years ago, it was a thriving village of about 250 families. Now, only 35 remain.
The village is 379 km from state capital Dehradun, 88 km from Joshimath. In the 35 families that remain, there are few young people. Many of those living here are elderly, with younger people moving away in search of livelihood opportunities.
On Wednesday, TOI carried a report of village Barahoti in Joshimath, where district authorities regularly visit to mark territory with tell-tale signs of Indian presence – biscuit wrappers, newspapers, magazine covers, and large boulders marked ‘India’. Chinese personnel undertake a similar exercise at regular intervals, arriving at the village that has been deserted to leave behind beer bottles and wrappers of edible things to make it appear like inhabitants are Chinese. This delicate balancing of territorial claims has continued for about eight years, ever since the village was deserted.
At Niti, villagers said life was hard, and many more could migrate. The state government seldom heard pleas for better facilities, villagers told TOI. There were little employment or education opportunities and health facilities were lacking. If this village also empties out, the district administration will be hard-pressed to make visits and mark territory that would more easily be claimed by the Chinese, who have developed good roads and other infrastructure on their side.
All families living in Niti are nomadic, moving to plains in Kodiyala and Bhimtala in Chamoli to spend six months of winter, starting end-October. They return to Niti usually in early June.
These days, villagers are surprised that police officers and bureaucrats have taken to visiting them. Local politicians stationed in Malari and Ghansali villages, about 30 km away, have also been dropping in. Uttarakhand governor KK Paul is set to visit nearby villages on September 18, the first time a governor has arrived in these parts.
SS Rana, a resident who retired from a government organisation, said, “People of this village have gone on to become top-ranking officials. One of our own has been director-general in the state health department. Even so, the village has no hospital. The closest hospital is in Bampa, five km away but there is no ambulance. The doctor is not always present there. There are no state buses plying. Old people are quite helpless.”
Ram Singh, a contractor, said there was once a thriving trade with Tibet and hand-crafted woollen goods made by women here were sold there. Such goods no longer have takers.
Singh said the state government should encourage Masarovar yatris going into China to use the route that runs close to the village. Also, steps should be taken to encourage wildlife tourism as there are rare animals here like musk deer or bharal. Local people could be trained to cultivate medicinal herbs by the horticulture department, he said. Such activities would aid in preventing villagers from moving out.
Dhireash Chandra Bisht, forest range officer, told TOI that a proposal he had put forward for the development of eco-tourism in Niti had been accepted by the tourism department. AK Dwivedi, tourism official, said Niti was among 25 villages in the state to be developed for eco-tourism.
Additional commissioner Harak Singh Rawat of Garhwal said he too had sent a proposal for using the Niti route for the Mansarovar yatra. Despite all these plans and proposals, villagers say they have little evidence of impending change.