Bangla border sealed ahead of I-Day
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The State Government has made elaborate security arrangements to ensure an incident-free Independence Day. Security has been beefed up in vulnerable areas including the State Secretariat and the Indo-Bangla border is sealed in the wake of threats of possible militant strikes ahead of the Independence Day.
After chairing a high-level security meeting on Monday, Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh said the Indo-Bangla border has been sealed to prevent possible entry of militants into the State.
The State Government also decided to restrict entry of public into the Main Secretariat, he said.
Stating that there was no report so far of entry of militants into the state, Lyngdoh informed security had been beefed up in sensitive areas especially those with a mixed population.
“Apart from checking of vehicles, raids are conducted on suspected hideouts of militants,” the Home Minister said.
On restrictions on the entry of people to the Main Secretariat, he said “the Meghalaya Secretariat perhaps is the only State Secretariat in the country where people can come and go without any restriction.”
“We have taken strong cognizance to these lapses. The Government will be adopting a new strategy on the security arrangement in the Main Secretariat,” Lyngdoh said.
“From now onwards, only the Chief Minister, Ministers, legislators and officials will be allowed to enter the Secretariat through the entrance connected with the Yojana Bhavan,” he said.
General public and employees of the Secretariat will be allowed to use the main entrance, he said adding that Government employees will have to produce identity cards for entering the secretariat while the public would have undergo a thorough checking. The entry from the eastern side of the Secretariat would be used only by employees and officials.
While stating that there was no “external threat” which prompted the government to impose the new restrictions, Lyngdoh clarified that the restrictions were imposed as a precautionary measure.
