The country has seen so many brave IAS officers till date for maintenance of law and order. Being in the think of things only to bring a change to their respective cities is every IAS officer’s vision. But not all of their plans work out as it is entirely up to government’s hands to grant an approval.
Armstrong Pame, an IAS officer in Manipur also had an idea to build a 100 km stretch of road in his city to connect two villages which have been inaccessible for ages. But he never got any support from the government. He didn’t give up! He sprung into action and created a big difference. Let’s find out as to how the officer defied all odds to bring a change in his city.
The dabaang officer played an indispensable role ever since taking charge at the office and has always set high standards for himself for he marched towards it each day of his life. In some way or the other, he has managed to solve the problems that his city has been facing for ages.
While some officers are taking bribe from bigwigs behind the scenes for their own benefit, Armstrong is carrying the flag of responsibility to bring a change to his city and to put a smile on people’s faces. The honest officer hogged the limelight when he alone constructed a 100 km road in the state in 2012 without government support.
The respect towards the officer grew day by day and since then, he has launched many initiatives with the recent one being when he planned to invite 10 selected students from Class 5 to 10 for dinner every week in a bid to give them a sneak peek in the life of an IAS officer. The students are chosen from a number of schools in the district.
In some remote areas of Manipur, the two such villages namely Tusem and Tamenglong were out of reach as there were no road facilities. But today, people living there will no longer worry about walking for hours or swim across the river as Armstrong worked beyond the call of duty to build a 100-km road, making it very easier for the villagers to reach the destination quickly by cutting down the travelling time. It is known as the People’s Road and the entire credit goes to Armstrong.
Earlier, Armstrong planned to get the road built. He even wrote to Manipur government explaining the situation but unfortunately, he was denied funds. But this did not interrupt his vision as he started gathering support through social media. What started as a contribution in small circle received more contribution than thought,
Armstrong garnered Rs 40 lakh for road construction through crowdfunding and then he himself put in Rs 5 lakh from his own pocket. The road links Manipur with the states of Assam and Nagaland. We might have seen a bud blooming into blossom and likewise, the two villages witnessed a massive change like ever before in Manipur, thanks to Armstrong’s wishful thinking that changed the lives of fellow villagers.
The most-liked IAS officer did his graduation in 2005 from St Stephen’s College in the national capital. He appeared for the Civil Services Examination where he cracked the examination in 2009 and was commissioned as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Tusem, Manipur.
In 2012, IAS officer Armstrong was nominated for the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Award in the Public Service Category and was bestowed with India’s Most Eminent IAS Officer Award in 2015.
—–
