Appeal to retain Baikam village in Meghalaya

SHILLONG, Sep 29: Leaders of Baikam village along with members of Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) on Thursday called on Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui with a fervent appeal to retain the village in Meghalaya.
According to the delegation, the village in East Jaintia Hills, which has about 40 households, was not included in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed between the governments of Meghalaya and Assam to resolve the six out of 12 areas of differences.
Asking the Home Minister to bring the matter to the notice of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, HYC general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem, while speaking to media persons here, said, “All the residents of Baikam village wanted to be part of Meghalaya. But it did not receive any information when the members of the Regional Committee visited the Ratacherra sector during the first phase of boundary dialogue.”
According to Synrem, the villagers came to know about the joint inspection by the regional committees of both the neighbouring states only after the MoU was signed.
He contended that Baikam village should be retained in Meghalaya not only because majority of the villagers are Khasi-Pnar but also because it is near Malidor and border Umpyrdit, which fall under Meghalaya as per the MoU for Ratacherra sector.
The HYC leader further informed that the Home Minister had assured that he will take up the matter to ensure that the village remains in Meghalaya.
“We will also meet the chairman of Jaintia Hills Regional Committee Sniawbhalang Dhar and also submit a petition to the chief minister in this regard,” Synrem said.
Meanwhile, secretary of Baikam village Rihun Suchiang said that the locals were uninformed about the joint inspection carried out by the regional panels of Meghalaya and Assam.
“All the residents of the village do not want to be part of Assam. We will like to urge upon the state government to ensure that we are included in Meghalaya since we would like to live in peace,” she said.