Shillong, Aug 7: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) South West Khasi Hills District on Monday opposed the Congress-led government’s move to inaugurate the Administrative Unit and instead demanded that Ranikor Community & Rural Development Block should be converted into Civil Sub Division.
KSU-SWKHD organizing secretary Marcony Thongni told reporters that KSU members along with the people of the area would be compelled to boycott the occasion by staging a protest when chief minister Mukul Sangma would inaugurate the new administrative unit at Ranikor on August 10.
“We do not want the government to give us administrative unit because the union has on many occasions been demanding for upgrading Ranikor block into civil sub-division,” he said.
A memorandum was submitted in advance to the chief minister on the matter, asking the government to scrap its decision to set up the new administrative unit, and instead consider upgrading Ranikor Block into civil sub-division.
Referring to the 2011 census, he said that the Ranikor C&RD Block deserved to be upgraded as it covers a vast jurisdiction comprising of 157 villages with a population of more than 41,218 under a geographical territory of over 760 sq km.
On the inauguration of two newly created blocks at Mawlai and Mawpat, Thongni said that the government has no capacity to think logically while taking such a decision.
“It is quick in giving a new block for Mawpat which is not very far from Mawlai but neglects the rural areas where people have to walk hours to reach the Ranikor Block office,” he said, while stating that there are villages with a distance of about 40 to 60 km away from the block.
According to Thongni, creation of new civil sub-division will pave way for setting up of a new C&RD Block at Wahkaji-Umdohlun area, and demanded from the state government to consider creating a separate C&RD Block for the area which comprised more than 50 villages.
