NONGSTOIN: Shallang village in West Khasi Hills which had seen a spurt in the activities of the GNLA in the last few months is crawling back to normalcy with no fresh incidents reported of late.
The area being a coal-belt region fell prey to the Garo militant outfit which, under the leadership of Savio Marak, commander in chief in charge of West Khasi Hills, served several demand notices to the traders. Only in the month of January, two gate owners were gunned down at Songsak for failing to meet the demands of the GNLA. This created a fear psychosis among the traders of the neighbouring areas who at one point of time contemplated abandoning their businesses.
With the police unable to tackle the rise in the activities of the GNLA, even the common man of the area felt threatened lest they became victims of collateral damage. However, according to coal traders, things improved with the appointment of the new officer-in-charge at the Shallang police station.
Speaking to this scribe, the Superintendent of Police R Muthu said that the situation in Shallang was now under control and businesses were running smoothly.
According to a reliable source, Savio Marak and his men (12 in number) have left Shallang and are currently in Garo Hills.
“The GNLA has quit Shallang and moved on to other pastures. There have been no instances of demand notes being served to anyone in the area since February,” the source said.However, sources added that with the beginning of the rainy season, the coalmines cease to function and so does the activities of various outfits. So not much can be made out of the present lull in the activities of the GNLA and a clear picture can only be found out at the end of the monsoons.