Shillong Oct 4: Over a dozen organizations staged a sit-in protest in the city on Thursday to pressurize the state government to set up entry-exit points to check influx, solve inter-state boundary dispute and speed up the process of shifting settlers from Thew ïew Mawlong area.

The sit-in protest was held at the parking lot near Additional Secretariat here.

The 13 organisations also threatened to set up their own entry/exit points to check influx in view of the delay by the State government to start the work.

Exit and points were proposed to be set up across the state as per the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016.

KSU president, Lambok Starwell Marngar said, the NGOs would have no other option but to take up the responsibility of setting up entry-exit points by themselves to prevent influx and illegal immigration into the state.

“Almost all paper works have been done by the previous government, and now it is just for the present government to start the construction works. There will be no more talks on the matter as the 13 NGOs have waited for four long years. There has been no sign to set up even one entry and exit point in the state,” Marngar said.

Marngar said that a memorandum was submitted to the chief minister Conrad K Sangma last month requesting the government to speed up the process to set up the check points especially in view of the threat due to the release of NRC in Assam.

Of the 41 entry-exit points identified in the different districts of the state, 18 are located in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region and 23 in the Garo Hills region.

Agreeing with the chief minister that it is not possible for the government to set up all of them in one shot, Marngar said, “We strongly demand that the first phase should immediately start at the earliest possible.”

He recalled that the 13 groups had withdrawn the agitations to demand for ILP in 2013 to pave way for the government to come up with the comprehensive mechanisms after it expressed inability to implement the ILP system in the state.

“The delay will only provoke us to give the government a befitting reply for playing with the interest of the indigenous people of the state,” he said.

On the move of the present state government to revisit the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016 to further strengthen and make it more effective, the KSU president sad that the state government should invite the 13 groups to discuss on the matter.

“In fact, we are yet to know whether the Act is effective or not since it is yet to be implemented. But if the government has the intention to make it more effective, it should take us into consideration,” Marngar demanded.

The 13 groups also asked the Meghalaya government to find solution on the issue related to shifting of the settlers from Them ïew Mawlong.

“The respective departments should take measures to accommodate their own employees who are residing there (Them ïew Mawlong).

Expressing concern over the problem being faced by people residing along the inter-state border with Assam, Marngar said that both the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya should convene a meeting to discuss the matter.

“Both the chief ministers should immediately hold a meeting to resolve the issue,” he said.

“Both the state governments should not force the pressure groups to take their own course of action to protect the people from the continued harassment by the Assam authorities,” he added.