GUWAHATI: A day after the repair of a 2.5km long stretch between Mokaibari and Sundarpur was halted following a meeting between Assam and Meghalaya officials, residents of villages in the Langpih area however are keeping their fingers crossed for an amicable solution soon.
“This kutcha road is important as it serves as a ‘lifeline’ for the students and the farming community of the area who use it on a daily basis. We hope that the road construction resumes immediately after the meeting of the deputy commissioners of Kamrup and West Khasi Hills on September 2,” Sambhu Chetri, secretary of the village defence party, and a resident of Lower Langpih, told The Shillong Times on Wednesday.
Over the years, school children from the Sundarpur area have to wade through a watery stretch with much difficulty or resort to various means to move over to Mokaibari en route to Lower Langpih, about 5km away.
About 700 families reside in the Lower Langpih area stretching to Sundarpur, sources said.
“Yes, many Gorkha families reside in the area and the population has increased over the years and so has the need for better communication. The farm-dependent families have to commute a good 8km stretch from Sundarpur to Lower Langpih to sell vegetables and spices in the market,” Chetri said.
Earlier this month, Chetri along with some residents were engaged in the repair of the kutcha road but were allegedly roughed up by a police team from West Khasi Hills and threatened not to resume work.
“So far, there has been status quo since August 13 last when we were stopped from repairing the road. But we are hopeful of a solution,” he said.
The All Assam Gorkha Students Union (AAGSU) has vehemently condemned the alleged assault on the villagers and also threatened to stage an economic blockade in the border area if immediate measures were not taken to ensure protection of residents in the Langpih area, including strengthening security forces in the border police outpost and intensified patrolling by Assam police in the area.
For years and decades now though, development in Lower Langpih, an area which, villagers believe, has the potential to grow into a tourism hotspot, has remained a far cry.
“Had it not been a disputed area between Assam and Meghalaya, this place could have become a tourist spot because of its weather, which is very cool and pleasant even during the peak of summer, and of course, its natural water springs. We still witness layers of fog in the mornings and afternoons even now,” Chetri said.
AAGSU (Kamrup district committee) secretary, Gobinda Sarma also hoped that the September 2 meeting of the deputy commissioners would bring forth an amicable solution.
The students union had also sought a high-level meeting between the two states for a permanent solution to the decades-old inter-state boundary problem in the Langpih area, which has already seen many flare-ups between residents of the two states.