Mehta takes stock of situation in Garo Hills

Shillong: In view of the bandh call by GNLA most shops in Betasing and Ampati areas remained closed due to fear of retaliation from the outfit. Meanwhile Meghalaya DGP, Rajiv Mehta has reviewed the security arrangements. At a meeting convened on Monday the DGP has given clear directives that senior police officers, OCs and ICs have to visit interior areas and villages and instil confidence in people.
Mehta has given a call to police officers in Garo Hills that policing should not be confined to roads but officers must tour villages on foot and interact with the villagers as a strategy for area domination and also to bridge the gap between people and police.
Mehta has clearly demonstrated that he means business and is taking his assignment seriously by touring to the hot spots of Garo Hills trying to motivate his officers and men who are fighting militancy, as a senior terms it “in very stressful conditions.”
It may be mentioned that the  indefinite bandh called by the GNLA has paralyzed the normal life in Ampati, the constituency of  Chief Minister Mukul Sangma. Hundreds of students who are appearing for their Board examinations are affected due to the bandh call by the militant outfit on an issue many in Garo Hills call a tenuous issue and which is directed at gaining public sympathy.