Shillong, Aug 3: The headman of a border village has sought the Meghalaya government’s intervention into alleged obstruction by the Assam police to construct an eri-farming building.
Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, Madan Umwang headman Blikshon Mukhim said that the Assam police led by an in-charge came to the village on July 29 and ordered that the construction should be stopped immediately.
He said that the Rs-1.5 lakh eri-farming building at Madan Umwang was sanctioned by the state sericulture department under the scheme of the Government of India.
Madan Umwang is one among the villages falling under the disputed Block – II area along the Meghalaya-Assam border. Out of 90 households, 20 are earning their livelihood by taking up eri-farming activity.
In 2015, the Assam police had also taken similar action by dismantling the building when it was nearly completed.
Mukhim said that when works resumed for completing the remaining construction of the building, the SP of Assam’s West Karbi Anglong District, came to village on Thursday, asking him to stop the work or else he would be arrested by Assam police.
The headman had earlier met Ri Bhoi deputy commissioner CP Gotmare for immediate intervention at his level against the obstruction of the work by Assam police.
“Though the DC has assured that he would take up the matter with the Karbi Anglong DC, but there was no deployment of security personnel from Meghalaya to prevent the Assam police from bulldozing border villagers,” he said.
He further lambasted the state government for its alleged step-motherly treatment to the people residing at the border by failing to deploy police personnel.
Mukhim urged the Meghalaya government, ministers and MLAs to intervene into the matter and ensure that people are protected from such atrocities by the Assam police.
He also said that though talks held between the chief ministers of the two states Mukul Sangma and Sarbananda Sonowal had taken place but it did not reach anywhere since problems in disputed areas continue to crop up though both the states agreed to maintain status qou and would not disturb if developmental projects are taken up.
“Both the chief ministers of the two states have agreed that there will be no problems when it comes to developmental activities, but this was never maintained, and the chief ministers also shifted the entire responsibility to the chief secretaries,” Mukhim observed.
