By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, AUG 3: Yet again, the Assam police have allegedly stopped the construction work of an Eri-Farming building of the state’s sericulture department in Madan Umwang village along the disputed inter-state border in Ri Bhoi District.
The incident took place on July 29 evening (around 3.20 pm) when the Assam police came and ordered the village headman Blickshon Mukhim to stop the ongoing construction of the building, which was earlier dismantled in 2015.
When Mukhim refuses on ground that it is a project sponsored by the Government of India, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Hamren District, Assam came today and issue strict warning to the extent of arresting the headman.
Addressing newsmen here, Mukhim said that earlier on July 31, he had immediately sought the intervention of the Ri Bhoi’s deputy commissioner CP Gotmare into the attempt to disrupt developmental activities in the border area.
The DC assured that he would immediately take up the matter with the DC of Karbi Anglong, he said while also lamenting at the district administration’s failure to deploy security personnel for protecting the border residents.
“The failure to deploy police personnel by the state government of Meghalaya is seen an act of step-motherly treatment against the border people, who are left as orphans to fend for themselves,” he said.
According to him, out of 90 households in the village, 20 families are depending their livelihood from eri-farming. Madan Umwang is having a population of around 500.
In November, 2015 the Assam police, allegedly came in 7-8 trucks and dismantled the Eri-Farming building and took away construction materials, which however was later returned after the government’s intervention.
The building was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 1.50 lakh.
However, Mukhim expressed a lot of sense of insecurity due to the action by the Assam police and lackadaisical attitude on the part of the Meghalaya government.
“We are turned scapegoats when we are welcoming schemes given by the government of Meghalaya,” he said while urging all the ministers and MLAs to start intervene and ensure Assam police do not disrupt the peaceful border.
Stating that the state government should immediately deploy security personnel in Madan Umwang, he said that this is because the recent talk between the two chief ministers Mukul Sangma and Sarbananda Sonowal is reaching nowhere.
“Both the chief ministers of the two states have agreed that there will be no problems when it comes to developmental activities, which however was never maintained as the entire responsibility is shifted to the chief secretaries,” he said.
Asked, Mukhim said that the in-charge of Assam police when he came on July 29 had threatened to arrest him within 2 days if I don’t stop the construction work of the building. “He (IC) also asked me whether Madan Umwang falls in Meghalaya or Assam which I replied that is under the disputed area (Block II),” he said.
The headman however argued that both the states should maintained status quo since the issue is yet to be resolved.
Stating that the Assam government is also implementing various developmental schemes, Mukhim however said, “But the Meghalaya government has never stop such activity.”
He however said but majority of the Khasi villages under Block-II area which around 15 of them are not entertaining developmental schemes of the Assam government. “They are only implemented by non-Khasi residents,” he said.
Lambasting the jailed legislator from Mawhati Julius K Dorphang, who was arrested earlier this year for raping a minor girl, Mukhim said that the MLA had totally neglected the border people who voted him to power by not raising issues concerning their interest.
On dual voters, the headman said that only from Madan Umwang, there are around 25 dual voters who have their names enrolled on both sides. “I have submitted the names to the ERO of Mawhati for necessary action,” he said.
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