Bandh today; MMPO invoked

Shillong: The Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order Act (MMPO) has been invoked in the state on the eve of the dawn-to-dusk (5am to 5pm) bandh sponsored by the State Co-ordination Committee of Coal Owners, Miners and Dealers’ Forum in protest against the non-chalant attitude of the government over the ongoing ban on rat-hole coal mining by the NGT. A government statement warned the sponsors of Wednesday’s bandh that they would be held responsible for any damage or loss caused to public or private properties and would have to compensate.