Border body denied meeting with PM

SHILLONG:  The Co-Ordination committee on the International border (CCIB)  has  alleged that the government has denied an opportunity for them to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi lest he will come to know firsthand about the actual problems and suffering of the people at the grassroots especially relating to land and land rights of people residing along the boundary line.
In a statement issued to the media on Friday , the CCBI said that the state Government had miserably failed to settle the border issue for so long as thousands of acres of land is still lying in the border due to wrong demarcation of boundary and more so with the proposed border fencing.  Referring to a news item appeared in this daily during the visit of the Prime Minister on the plan of the state government to invoke urgency clause to acquire land for border fencing, the CCIB said it wanted to know whether it is not a dubious role of the government to ignore the sentiments and legitimate rights of the people.
“CCIB will continue to fight for the rights of the people in the border and will not rest”, it added.
Grand Council of Chiefs submit memorandum
The Grand Council of Chiefs of Meghalaya submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the Instrument of Accession and Annexed Agreement, accepted and signed by the Governor General of India and the Federation of Khasi States through the Governor’s office on Friday evening.
Earlier, a delegation of 15 traditional chiefs (Syiem, Dolloi, Sirdar, Myntri, and Nokmas), from Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills border of Bangladesh, and Nokmas from Garo Hills, traveled long distance to Shillong, to personally hand over the memorandum, however, they learnt late evening that due to the busy schedule of the Prime Minister, they have to hand over the memorandum through the office of the Governor as a number of appointments request were cancelled.