SHILLONG: The president of the Khasi Students Union (KSU), Lambok Marngar, on Wednesday termed the GVK EMRI as the youngest daughter of the state government while referring to the nine-day hunger strike of the Meghalaya EMRI Workers’ Union.
Speaking to reporters here, Marngar went on to say that, “The state government should understand and take responsibility. It is shrugging off its responsibility if it says that the government has no role. It goes to show the failure of the government”.
Supporting the demands of the GVK EMRI, he said that the GVK and the state government should take responsibility if anything happens to the members of the agitating groups as they have been on a hunger strike for the last nine days.
He said that the government cannot shirk its responsibilities and the pressure groups cannot be silent spectators.
“If they flex their muscles, we will also show our strength. This may have its own consequences,” Marngar said.
The general secretary of the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), Dundee Cliff Khongsit, condemned the lackadaisical attitude of the state government for not paying heed to the plight of the union.
He added that the state government should have doctors and nurses ready to attend to the members of the group in order to ensure that they are in good health. Referring to the meeting between the GVK and Health Minister AL Hek on November 4, Khongsit said that the meeting failed to come up with any initiative or solution to end the deadlock.
During the meeting, Hek said that a decision was taken to appeal to the agitating staff to call off the strike and resume service for the benefit of the people and patients suffering due to the non availability of EMRI emergency services.
Khongsit observed that the government is delaying the matter and asserted that it is yet to have a policy that will control outside companies such as GVK.
Khongsit said it was irresponsible on the part of the government to give way to companies from outside and said that there should be a proper policy which allows outside companies to start their venture in the state.
“There is no longer any statesman,” he said and slammed the public representatives in the state.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya People Labour Union (MPLU) met GVK authorities on Wednesday to apprise them about the issues of the agitating staff.
MPLU general secretary Batskhem Basaiawmoit said that the union was hoping that the government and GVK company will come up with a solution to the matter soon.
Basaiawmoit said that the company does not agree to the 100 per cent enhancement in the current salary with 30 per cent annual increment.
