SHILLONG: The KSU has reiterated its demand for early settlement of boundary dispute with Assam.
“It is really sad that the issue (boundary dispute) has been lingering for the past 42 years ever since Meghalaya achieved its statehood in 1972,” KSU president Daniel Khyriem told newsmen after a meeting with KHADC CEM Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit at the latter’s office here on Wednesday.
The KSU has raised the boundary issue a day after a KHADC delegation led by its CEM visited several villages along the inter-state border to get the first hand information about the problems being faced by people living in those areas.
According to the KSU leader, the people living along the inter-state border have to bear the brunt of all kinds of atrocities due to inordinate delay by the State government to settle the problem.
“It is really sad to see that they have been living under constant threat and intimidation from the Assam authorities. It is a very distressing situation for them. The fear and trauma that they have undergone all these years are unimaginable,” the KSU president said adding that the major concern at the moment is the safety and security of the people living in the border areas.
“We have read reports about the atrocities perpetrated against our people either by the Assam authorities or the Assam-based militants,” Khyriem said.
While lauding the KHADC MDCs of both the ruling and opposition for the initiative to infuse a sense of security among the villagers residing in the disputed areas under Block II, he said that the visit of the MDCs to Madan Umwang and other areas would have lifted the moral of the residents there.
Khyriem also urged that the State Government to take adequate steps for the safety and security of the people residing in the villages along the inter-State border.