SHILLONG/MAWKYRWAT: Two pressure groups in South West Khasi Hills have strongly reacted to the alleged uranium drilling by Atomic Minerals Division (AMD) in violation of the state government’s order and demanded action against those involved.
Leaders of the Khasi Students Union (KSU) South West Khasi Hills unit have demanded the arrest of the staff of Atomic Minerals Division (AMD) asserting that it did not stop drilling uranium despite the state government and KHADC’s order to stop mining.
Speaking to reporters at the union’s office in Jaiaw on Saturday, KSU said the AMD staff has time and again surveyed the areas in South West Khasi Hills for mining uranium. “The district administration should be aware of AMD’s actions and its staff should be punished,” the KSU leaders said.
Organising secretary Marconi Thongni said the AMD staff should leave and threatened action if AMD does not do so. He added that the union would not bow down to the district administration.
Following the arson in two villages in the district and assault of AMD staff, police have been carrying out raids on KSU members’ houses. Reacting to this “high-handedness”, the Federation of Khasi-Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) in South West Khasi Hills said on Sunday, “We strongly condemn the police for barging into the house of some KSU members without properly investigating who were behind the incidents. We urge the district administration and the police not to run after or pick up members of any pressure groups because this will provoke the youths of the district and add fuel to the fire,” General Secretary of the FKJGP South West Khasi Hills Balse Kharbani said.
Denying their involvement in the arson cases in Mawkyrwat, the KSU members said police should stop the search as they have nothing to do with the incident. “In our meeting with the Superintendent of Police of SWKH said that the machines are for drilling water but we were informed by the PHE department that it is not aware of it which clearly shows that the district administration is hiding something,” Thongni said.
FKJGP’s Kharbani wanted to know whether the deputy commissioner of South West Khasi Hills knew about the ongoing activities of AMD.
“The DC should also clarify to the people about the presence of the drilling machines in Mawkyrwat claimed to be coming through the PHE Department because the district was surrounded by big rivers and we don’t need groundwater. The PHE Department should have found ways to protect the water bodies instead of bringing drilling machines,” he said.
Reiterating the group’s stand on uranium mining, Kharbani said though the district administration and the police wanted peace and tranquility in the district, their actions defied their preachings.
“The government should also take action against AMD for going ahead with the drilling exploration of uranium in the district without its permission… If the government and district council remained mum on the issue, that means there is something wrong,” he added.
Meanwhile, FKJGP has also asked people to be alert because “thousands of illegal migrants might come in to the district because of the implementation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam”.
