By Our Reporter
Shillong: The on-going controversy in the disputed area of Langpih has become a matter of concern not only for some political leaders and social organisations of the state but has equally gripped the minds of the young people of the state who have expressed concern over the inability of the State government to solve the ongoing boundary dispute with Assam.
In line with this failure on the part of the state government, the concerned youth of Meghalaya organized a signature campaign in the city here on Saturday to enlighten the citizens of the State about the plight of the people living in these border villages.
The campaign was organized as a mark of support to the people living in the disputed area who are victims to the autocratic attitude of the Assam Government.
“We are organizing this signature campaign to muster up support for our brethrens who are facing the brunt of the Assam government’s force,” Kitboklang Nongrum an organizer of the campaign told reporters here on Saturday.
Expressing disappointment over the inability of the Meghalaya government to curb the hostility of the neighbouring State, Nongrum said people living in the border areas with Assam are suffering a lot as they are prevented from carrying out developmental activities. Adopting a different strategy to gather the attention of the people of the state in regard to this problem, Nongrum said they have formed a group ‘Sur U Paidbah’ or ‘voice of the people’ and are even using the social media like facebook to spread the message among everyone, especially the youths of the State.
The group has termed themselves as ‘apolitical’ adding that they are not a registered NGO. “In line with this cause, we will send the signatures to the Prime Minister of the country”, Nongrum said. “Through this signature campaign, we hope to put pressure on the Centre and the State governments to immediately demarcate the boundary once and for all,” he added.
Stating that the issue is far from being solved through political dialogue, Nongrum said that the only remaining answer to this issue is a unified pressure from the citizens of the State on the government, which will ensure that the government demarcates the boundary of the State. The organizers of this campaign also said that they hoped that through this campaign, people of the State will wake up to the gravity of the situation and hold such campaigns to explain to those who are not familiar with the issue.