By Banshanlang Marwein
What could be described as the most awaited aspirations of the people of Mairang Civil SubDivision has now turned into a reality – a historic moment indeed for everyone in the district. After approximately three decades since the demand for a district and 45 years of being a Sub-Division, Eastern West Khasi Hills, became the 12th District of Meghalaya on 10 November 2021. Many, on and off social media have ‘ridiculed’ that the ‘name’ of the district does not sound right whether grammatically or geographically. Even though I am weak in Geography, if I have to suggest a name then “Central Khasi Hills” is what best describes the new district.
West Khasi Hills District was bifurcated from East Khasi Hills in 1976 and the Mairang C& RD Block which was created in 1956 at the time of ‘undivided’ Assam was upgraded to a Civil Sub-division in 1976. According to the leaders in Mairang, the former MLA, (L) Fuller Lyngdoh along with other leaders had demanded that Mairang should be the headquarters of West Khasi Hills but its demand was ill-fated. This made them come up with black flag protests when the Sub-Division was inaugurated in 1976. Back in 1991 when Ri Bhoi, Mairang and others were queuing up for the demand to be upgraded to districts, ultimately only Ri Bhoi and South Garo Hills Districts were born on June 4, 1992 and June 18, 1992 respectively.
Through the archival records I could access, former MLA, (L) Kitdor Syiem along with the Sordar Shnongs and the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Mr DP Wahlang held a meeting on October 10, 1996 and had brought out a blueprint for the proposed district. The SDO at that time had sought the opinion of the people of Mairang regarding the upgradation of the Sub-Division to a district. The demand did not die down, public meetings were held on various occasions and particularly in 2012 the demand gained momentum when the proposal for few more districts was tabled but Mairang again missed the bus and other new districts were created at that time i.e., East Jaintia Hills, South West Khasi Hills, South West Garo Hills and North Garo Hills. The Joint Action Committee (a conglomeration of KSU, FKJGP, SSSP, SS Hima Nongkhlaw, Hima Nongkhlaw) had called for mass demonstration to seek support for the district demand. At that time some leaders including women were harassed and went on a hunger strike in Shillong and Mairang. The ‘collective effort’ of various stakeholders ranging from pressure groups like KSU, HYC, FKJGP etc, political parties, community leaders, ordinary citizens and MLAs among others merit mention.
The present MLAs, Brolding Nongsiej and Metbah Lyngdoh have been instrumental in their capacity as MLAs, later as Ministers and Speaker to push forward till Mairang was officially upgraded to a District. West Khasi Hills was still the largest district (23% of total area of the state) of Meghalaya even after the bifurcation of the district in 2012. This makes the district stand as the lowest in terms of density of population but its literacy rate is higher than that of the State at 77% as opposed to 74% of the State (Census 2011). Yet these factors make West Khasi Hills be one of the backward districts in the state, where many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals are below par. The growing population and growing demands for development; the difficulty in cutting across red tape at every level made the demand for a district a necessity rather than just a want. However, one can also ask – how is the situation of the other districts in Meghalaya? Has there been any major upgradation, progress and improvement? Have people come closer to the administration? Is there any major development that has taken place? The people of these districts know fully well what exactly the situation is. So what can we expect from the ‘New District’: Knowing fully well that the state exchequer is running dry one may wonder as to where and how the state will fund the new district but I am (not) sure the government is prepared for the same.
The district of course will also give employment opportunities to the youths in the region as the need for new departments and the enlargement of the existing ones will arise. The real problem now is that the district administration will take some time to be fully functional. History tells a better story about it. Immediate focus for the ‘New district’ administration probably should be on road connectivity to distant villages. Roads are the main drivers of the economy and villagers should actually make use of the existence of a DC’s office. Road access is especially imperative during health emergencies. Thanks to the ongoing road construction in a few villages within the district and the road from Mairang-Rani-Azra (MRA Road project) we will have a lifeline for trade and commerce among other services.
In the past two years when I visited various villages in erstwhile West Khasi Hills, one of the major problems is road connectivity especially when such places could be developed as major tourist hubs or could be easily accessible for farmers to transport their produce to the market. On the other hand, if we look at other issues such as education, the new District needs a government college of its own, and more government secondary and higher secondary schools and rejuvenation of existing ones. Health infrastructure should be upgraded with more doctors and other health workers in the Hospital, CHCs, PHCs, Sub-Centres so that it will cater to the immediate as well as long term need of the region.
The entire state of Meghalaya has 6+1 government colleges only of which 5 are in Garo Hills (including 1 upcoming Medical college), which is pretty unfair considering the population and area of Khasi and Jaintia Hills is larger. If at all there is an announcement for new government colleges, Mairang desperately needs one and the college should include other professional courses as well apart from the regular ones. Mairang is lucky to have many drop dead and pristine natural environments, however, such places need to be carefully balanced. The Tourism and Forest Departments should work in tandem while developing certain places as tourist destinations. Visitors need to be strictly cautioned not to pollute their trails otherwise the District might become over-exposed if strict protocols are not in place. It’s important to mention that the district is still highly dependent on agriculture hence if the Agri-horticulture department could ‘practically’ concentrate majorly on this sector, and make it sustainable for the needs of the people, things should move in the right direction.
The introduction of various missions and schemes such as piggery farming, poultry, especially aquaculture mission has no doubt benefited the farmers but what next? More focus on the locally rich produce should be in place. In fact, a common market for farmers in the district to sell these produce is the need of the hour. Participative efforts need to be critically studied in order that the people can actually see agriculture as a means of income because it is yet to be seen as one. When it comes to Sports and Youth affairs, another aspect is that the Government should concentrate on identifying many young talents from the region who are unable to show their full potential either because of lack of support or no support at all. There is an urgent need for a government funded stadium (indoor and outdoor) with proper sports infrastructure in place.
The basic and daily amenities should not be sidelined, i.e., sanitation and proper drinking water, accessible and uninterrupted network connectivity and there has to be an end to frequent power cuts. Water crisis and sanitation for Mairang town is an important issue which needs more ground work than just mere plans. The District needs proper sewage management system which must be prioritised in order that the main towns like Mairang and Kynshi will not suffer from the garbage crisis experienced by Jowai, Marten-Mawlai, Iewduh etc.
Having many administrative centres can of course cater to the needs of the people but the point here is various government departments should be made fully functional and development activities on the ground should be grounded sooner than later. Policymakers need to think more in terms of people- centric policies and what actually the people need especially among those who still live from hand to mouth.
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