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Meghalaya : CM in Delhi for Garo talks |
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Meghalaya Chief Minister D.D. Lapang was in the national capital last week to seek a way out of the Garo hills tangle, while the non-cooperation movement by the Garo Students Union (GSU) ended peacefully. Lapang who reached New Delhi on Nov. 21, is reported to have discussed the situation with AICC leaders.
The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government has been making repeated appeals to the Garo Students’ Union to call off its agitation, but to no avail. The GSU has been protesting against the government’s decision to amend the Meghalaya Board of School Education Act, 1973.
During the three-day non-cooperation movement, launched by the students’ union and supported by several NGOs, ended peacefully on Nov. 21. Shops and educational institutions remained closed, attendance was thin in government offices and vehicles were off the roads. Lapang will discuss the situation with AICC leaders.
The Meghalaya Assembly’s select committee on the education board has held its second meeting today.
NGOs join anti-fencing protest
Another strong voice of protest against the proposed fencing of the border Meghalaya shares with Bangladesh has emerged from a group of NGOs.
In what could be termed as a twist to the border fencing controversy, several NGOs have come together to protest against the move by the government to issue a no objection certificate to the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) for carrying out fencing along the disputed border area.
The proposed fencing of the Indo-Bangladesh border, 150 yards into the Indian side, drew protests from several quarters, including DONER Minister P.R. Kyndiah. The argument for stalling the project is that vast tracts of cultivable land belonging to residents along the border will be lost if the fence is erected.
Kyndiah has written to the Defence Ministry asking for the project to be put on hold until the area to be fenced is properly demarcated.
The NBCC has allegedly moved the autonomous district councils of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills for a no objection certificate and a trading licence to carry out the fencing.
The Federal Council of War Mihngi and War Jaintia, the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front and Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo Peoples are the NGOs that have come under the banner of the Co-ordination Committee on International Border to take forward their protest campaign.
“We are opposing the fencing as we know it will snatch away the land and livelihood from local residents. But we are also against any move by the NBCC to procure trading licences and no objection certificates as it is aimed at benefiting only the company and not the local population”, an NGO representative said.
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