TURA: Peeved with the state government and the centre over the delay in the imposition of Inner Line Permit in Meghalaya to check illegal entry of outsiders, members of the Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organizations established a temporary check point at the entry point into Garo Hills in Bajengdoba to screen people coming in on Wednesday morning.
“We protested against the government for failing to implement the ILP and installed our own ILP check gate at Berubari in Bajengdoba,” informed CoMSO leader and chairman of Garoland State Movement Committee, Nikman Ch Marak.
In the absence of any checking mechanism in place, vehicles, particularly commercial transportation, coming into the Garo Hills region were flagged down by CoMSO members to screen the identity of the occupants.
“It was shocking to find that under just one hour as many as 200 people were caught without any identity proof or document. We handed them over to Bajengdoba police and requested that they be sent back,” revealed Balkarin Marak, another CoMSO leader who took part in the checking.
The CoMSO members later stepped aside for police teams from Bajengdoba police station to undertake the checking.
Leaders from various organizations of Garo Hills region under the banner of CoMSO have for long been demanding screening of visitors from outside. The three most vulnerable points used by people to enter into Garo Hills are located at Bajengdoba in North Garo Hills, Chibinang and Tikrikilla in West Garo Hills and Oidoba in South West Garo Hills district.
It is also worth mentioning that the highest concentration of non-tribal population falls in the Chibinang-Phulbari-Rajabala plains belt of west Garo Hills.
photo caption: Members of CoMSO from Garo Hills check for identity proof of outsiders entering into Garo Hills from Bajengdoba on Wednesday. ST photo