Dhaka admin asks Khasi people to leave Nahar Punji
SHILLONG: The Dhaka district administration has issued an eviction notice to over 700 families belonging to indigenous Khasi tribe who have been living in their ancestral land at Nahar Punji of Srimangal Upazila in Moulvibazar for over 75 years.
Opposing the quit notice, the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) has submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mukul Sangma seeking their intervention so that the issue could be resolved amicably.
Condemning the quit notice in the memorandum, Pyndapborthiaw Saibon, president of KHNAM’s central body stated that the Dhaka administration directed the Khasi people to leave Nahar Punji Village within the June 12, 2016, with a threat to evict forcefully if they refuse to do so.
Terming the eviction notice inhuman, he said, “For safety and security of the Khasi people it is necessary to negotiate for the transfer of these land occupied by the Khasi people to India, through the Land Boundary Agreement.”
Saibon further added that the people have been paying taxes for over 75 year while he claimed that State Government maintained a stoic silence on the issue.