GUWAHATI: Security forces have stepped up vigil along “sensitive” border areas of Meghalaya for Thursday’s Lok Sabha elections even as ensuring safe communication to remote polling booths remains a challenge.
Areas such as Malangkona, Kamphadubi and Langpih in West Khasi Hills district, which shares boundary with Kamrup district of Assam, are under strict surveillance.
By and large, peace has prevailed in the run-up to the polls.
Speaking to The Shillong Times on the eve of polls, West Khasi Hills superintendent of police, B.J. Laloo, said central reserved police force personnel along with sate police were guarding the polling stations and that the situation was peaceful.
“Security forces of both the states are on alert and ready to tackle any untoward situation along the border even as things have been peaceful. The inter-state boundary is not a problem. The main issue is the remoteness of some polling stations where safe and smooth accessibility have to be ensured,” Laloo said.
It may be mentioned that both the states had recently agreed to maintain status quo along the border areas ahead of the election and till the process was over.
The deputy commissioners of West Khasi Hills and Kamrup districts along with police officials of the two districts met at Langpih, a sensitive border village, on March 27 and assured to facilitate smooth passage of the elections.
The West Khasi district administration had also requested its counterparts in Assam to allow smooth passage of voters to the polling centres in Meghalaya through Assam.
“Accordingly, we have taken measures and the situation has been peaceful along the border areas of our district with no violations reported in regard to setting up polling stations,” Kamrup deputy commissioner, Kamal Kumar Baishya, told this correspondent on Wednesday.
A team from the Kamrup district administration visited Malang Hohua, a village in Assam close to the inter-state border to generate awareness on EVM and VVPAT among the villagers on Wednesday.
It may be recalled that a possible mob lynching incident was averted after a 16-member team from the Assam public health engineering (PHE) department was confronted and allegedly assaulted by a group of villagers at Malang Hohua near Boko on the Assam-Meghalaya border in September last year.
The PHE team had gone to the village to inspect the water quality of a scheme that incidentally catered to the residents of the area.