Koch bodies demand cancellation of ‘OT’ seat

SHILLONG: Joining the chorus of protests against the allotment of agriculture course seats under state quota to some students, the Meghalaya Koch Association (MKA) and Meghalaya Koch Students Union (MKSU) have urged upon the state government to cancel the seat allotted to one of the 14 nominated candidates.
In a joint statement addressed to Chief Minster Conrad Sangma, the Koch bodies said that Sarmistha Barman, who was categorised as Other Tribe (OT) in the list of students nominated for admission into the four-year course of B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture at CAU, Manipur, for the academic year 2020-21, is not a member of the Koch community and “hence she should be disqualified from the list”.
The organisations further stated that the surname ‘Barman’ is widely used by various )communities and as such, the caste certificate submitted by the student concerned, which has been obtained by “dubious means”, should also be cancelled immediately.
The selection of the particular student has deprived the indigenous tribal communities of the state of their rights, the organisations said.