NONGPOH: The Khasi Students’ Union has reacted strongly to the remark of the Ri Bhoi deputy commissioner that Ronghuna villagers have welcomed the railway project and said a handful of non-Khasi villagers cannot decide the future of the State.
The pressure group’s North Khasi Hills district unit, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said the fate of the ‘Khasi Jaintia Jaidbynriew’ is not on the hands of the residents of one village in Ri Bhoi. Ri Bhoi Deputy Commissioner C.P Gotmare had said on Monday the villagers of Ronghuna, where the project site was raided by KSU members on Saturday, are happy with the development. Reacting to this, Lambok Rymbai, general secretary of the KSU unit, said Gotmare’s statement “is meaningless” because “the non-khasi villagers of Ronghuna are not the ones to decide on the fate and future of the Bri U Hynniewtrep”. Rymbai said more than 80 percent of the people had opposed the project during a public hearing in 2011. The pressure group will continue its protests till the State Government implements a “strong mechanism to prevent influx by constructing entry and exit points”, he added.
The KSU leader threatened to intensify the agitation if the group’s arrested members are not released and police do not stop arresting its activists.
“We will not bow down to the dictatorial attitude of the Government,” Rymbai said.The KSU’s agitation has also got support from Bandari Ryntathiang, president of the Confederation of Ri Bhoi People. The confederation has also demanded scrapping of the project and unconditional release of KSU members.
