DPDB Wokha discusses water crisis, hospital plan and digital governance

District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) meeting was held at the Deputy Commissioner’s Conference Hall, Wokha, chaired by Deputy Commissioner and vice chairman DPDB, Vineet Kumar, with Achumbemo Kikon MLA also present. Officers and Heads of Departments from across the district attended the meeting.
According to DIPR report, the house deliberated on the drying up of Etsutchukha, the only perennial water source in the heart of Wokha town. Officials from PHED, Forest Department and Wokha Town Council identified borewell drilling around the pond as a major cause of depletion.
The Town Council has already banned new borewells and deepening of existing ones. Achumbemo suggested immediate revival measures including plantation drives in Mount Tiyi, urging the Forest Department to take responsibility for afforestation.
He proposed that each Town Councillor care for at least 20 trees and requested assistance from the Nagaland Ground Water Board to regulate groundwater extraction.
The meeting also passed a resolution for construction of a new district hospital, with plans to upgrade it to an urban hospital and include a nursing college. Medical Superintendent Dr. N. Mhonchan Kithan highlighted the hospital’s history, noting its origin as a 4-bedded facility in 1876 and expansion to 50 beds in 1969.
He pointed out overcrowding, lack of staff quarters, and encroachment that has reduced hospital land from 50–60 acres to just 6–7 acres.
Other issues discussed included geotagging and mapping that showed several Lotha villages under Assam, which Achumbemo stressed could impact census operations. Human-elephant conflict mitigation was also adopted as a resolution.
A major highlight was the launch of the AI-powered Citizens SEWA Chatbot, a multi-channel digital interface providing access to over 43 government programmes, grievance redressal, emergency support, and location-based services.
Available via WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, the Wokha Web Portal and SMS, the chatbot positions Wokha as a pioneering model for digital governance under Phase-II expansion.
Presentations were also made by the District AIDS Prevention and Control Unit, reporting detection rates rising to 26%, and by the Economics and Statistics Department highlighting key data and initiatives. Pamphlets on “Drug Abuse in the Workplace” were distributed.