SHILLONG: Intensifying their opposition to the Indo-Bangla border fencing inside 150 yards from the zero line, the Coordination Committee on International Border (CCIB) has decided to stage a protest march to the Main Secretariat from Motphran on October 28 demanding realignment of the border as per the Nehru-Noon agreement of 1958.
The CCIB, along with border residents, on Tuesday staged a dharna in the city as a mark of protest against the government for failing to address the problems related to fencing.
Speaking to reporters after the dharna, CCIB general secretary Kmenlang Myrchiang said the proposed border fencing from Jaliakhola in West Jaintia Hills to Nongjri in East Khasi Hills should be taken up after fresh alignment as per the 1958 Nehru-Noon agreement.
He claimed that the State would lose lakhs of square meters of land if fencing is conducted as per the new survey. Making it clear that the CCIB is not against border fencing, he reiterated that fencing should be from zero line and not 150 yards inside the Indian territory.
The CCIB also lamented that the locals are suffering gravely due to the border fencing since residents of 80 villages in Garo Hills are living inside India but outside the fenced area. “They are treated as foreigners without any government help for their basic needs and their rights to livelihood have been snatched away,” Myrchiang said.
Slamming the State government over its silence on the matter, he said unlike the governments of Mizoram and Nagaland, which are facing similar problems, Meghalaya government has chosen to turn a deaf ear to the cry of its people living along the border.
Meanwhile, KSU president Daniel Khyriem said the committee would also seek the support of neighbouring states like Mizoram and Nagaland to put pressure on the Centre for addressing the problems faced by the people residing along the international border.
