State urges Centre, Bangladesh to protect Jaintiapur

SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has urged the Centre and the Bangladesh government to fund the protection and preservation of Jaintiapur, which holds great history of the tribes of Meghalaya.
The chief minister, currently on a visit to Bangladesh heading a team of ministers, officials and entrepreneurs, had stopped over at Jaintiapur of Sylhet district on Tuesday en route Dhaka.
In a statement issued here, the chief minister said that the MLAs from Jaintia Hills in particular were very happy to visit Jaintiapur and felt privileged to be part of the first government delegation to visit the place from Meghalaya.
“It was a great moment to visit Jaintiapur where the remains of the former ruler were laid to rest. We have only read about Jaintiapur and the Khasi and Jaintia population that settled there and it was an honour to visit the place”, he stated.
At a meeting with the Sylhet Chambers of Commerce, the state government invited it to visit Shillong.
Another suggestion that came up was road-air connectivity between Sylhet and Shillong in the near future which would be considered after proper consultation with the Centre.
“We see a great opportunity and we are here to ensure that we will create an environment and ecosystem where there is a win-win situation for both our countries”, the statement quoted the chief minister saying.
The state government observed that connection between tour operators, hoteliers and other stakeholders will ensure that traffic moves both ways and allow citizens of Sylhet to visit Meghalaya and vice versa.
“This exercise is just the beginning, I encourage our tour operators to connect with each other and build the relationship. We are here to open things, to discuss, to initiate and tourism is one sector that will be a good start for our countries”, Sangma said
Making a mention of coal, he said that the government is in the process of finding ways which can ensure continuity keeping in mind the environmental concerns, safety of minors and overall sustainable development.
He said that the process is on to ensure that coal mining is done in a scientific manner and things are moving in a positive direction after being stuck for quite a few years.
“We have worked hard in the last one-and-a-half years and have been able to give a specific direction and we have worked out a phase-wise manner on how we can resume coal mining depending on certain measures which will be worked out similarly for limestone and boulders also”, he said.
Trade discussion
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma met the Commerce Minister of Bangladesh, Tipu Munshi, on Wednesday where it was decided to identify products for trade by both the sides and an MoU inked.
Discussing trade opportunities between the two countries, the chief minister said tour operators from both sides should forge tie-ups to facilitate tourism.
Tour operators from Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills, who are part of the state delegation visiting Bangladesh, will be holding discussions with their counterparts in the neighbouring country on Thursday in the presence of the chief minister in Dhaka.
Improving services for boosting trade through land customs stations between India and Bangladesh were also discussed. High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly was also present in the meeting.
Munshi sought India and especially Meghalaya’s cooperation to improve the power sector as demand for power is huge in Bangladesh for its growing economy.