From Our Correspondent
TURA: The ongoing turmoil in southern India where hundreds of students and citizens from the Northeastern states have been boarding trains bound for their home destination was raised at a meeting between the Garo NGOs and the district administration of West Garo Hills at Tura on Friday.
The meeting assumed significance given that several hundred students from Garo Hills are currently undergoing training in various technical colleges and institutions in southern India while an equal number are admitted in schools and higher education institutions.
The student and social organizations from Tura led by the Garo Students’ Union (GSU) and its allies such as the A’chik Youth Welfare Organisation (AYWO), FKJGP, Tura Government College Students’ Union, and civil society groups including the United Christian Peace Forum (UCPF) and the Garo Hills Separate State Demand Committee (GHSSDC) met Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi at his office chamber on Friday afternoon following an invitation from the administration to discuss the ongoing situation in southern India.
The NGOs and civil society groups wanted to know the steps being taken by the Meghalaya Government in dealing with the situation given that in Bangalore city alone there are over eight hundred students from Garo Hills undergoing higher education studies.
It was made known to the student bodies and civil society groups that the Meghalaya government has already provided a helpline number which can be accessed by the concerned parents and their wards living in the south.
The administration also briefed the NGOs about the actual events taking place in which certain vested interest groups in that part of the state had created panic by spreading false rumours of impending attacks on people of the North East leading to mass exodus.
Back at home, the district administration has begun an exercise to build mutual trust between the two communities- Garos and Muslims – by holding peace meetings in the plain belt region of the State. The first peace meeting took place at Hallidyganj town bordering Assam where both Garos and the Muslim community leaders attended and assured the administration to uphold the peace in the face of the ongoing panic situation taking place in south India.
Similar peace meetings will be taking place in Phulbari, Tikrikilla and Rajabala within this week to instill confidence among the two commodities, the Deputy Commissioner informed.