NONGPOH: Jirang MLA Sosthenes Sohtun on Tuesday said there was a need to keep vigil in the inter-state border with Assam after over 19 lakh people were left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in that state as they could cross over to Meghalaya.
The MLA discussed the matter with the Ri Bhoi district deputy commissioner, R M Kurbah, on Tuesday.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Sohtun said that there are high chances of the excluded residents from Assam entering the state.
The MLA has also asked the DC to take necessary measures to prevent illegal influx and to keep vigil in the district’s villages bordering Assam.
Sohtun has urged all the local headmen and representatives of dorbar shnong in Jirang constituency to be alert to encroachment by or entry of unknown people in their villages and to report such cases to the authority.
Kurbah, meanwhile, had issued notice to all the headmen, seng samla shnong and others to keep vigil following publication of the NRC in Assam.
Kurbah directed all headmen in Ri Bhoi especially villages in the inter-state border to remain vigilant and inform the district administration and the police in case of any illegal immigration from Assam.
Sec 144 in Ri Bhoi
Two days after the ‘Sier Lapang Operation’ of the Hynniewtrep Youth’s Council (HYC) during which as many as 115 non-tribal shops were shut down in Nongpoh Town as these were operating without license from the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), the Ri Bhoi district administration on Tuesday imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC prohibiting assembly of more than five persons at any place and time throughout the district, except for schools, colleges and educational institutions.
The order also stated that members of NGOs in the district will not be allowed to conduct any checking of trading license or labourers without following due process of law as such action creates a fear psychosis among the businessmen and their workers and leads to tension, threat to public safety and endangers law and order.
