Delay in notifying Sohra as district disappoints forum

SHILLONG, Jan 22: The “undue delay” in notifying the upgrade of Sohra Civil Subdivision to a full-fledged district has irked the Sohra District Demand Forum (SDDF) which has expressed its disappointment
In a statement on Sunday, SDDF chairman, Atiar Syiemlieh, recalled that the forum met Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on October 16 last year at his office, and he had assured to examine the demand.
According to Syiemlieh, the CM wanted to meet the forum members on January 5, 2023, to declare Sohra Civil Subdivision as a full-fledged district. But the CM, he said, only gave an assurance at the meeting on January 5 which was also attended by the traditional heads from Sohra.
“He (Chief Minister Conrad Sangma) did not at all give a clear cut message as to when this assurance will become a reality. This assurance by the Chief Minister at the meeting did not match the message he conveyed through (SDDF member Alan West) Kharkongor that Sohra would be declared as a full-fledged district. It was merely an assurance perhaps since the Assembly elections are at hand,” Syiemlieh said.
The SDDF chairman has asked political parties not to use the agenda of Sohra’s upgrade to mislead the locals on the issue for their advantage, while clarifying that Sohra has not yet been declared a district.
It may be recalled that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had given an assurance that Sohra will be the headquarter of the new district which will be carved out of East Khasi Hills at a programme in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, NPP spokesperson Ampareen Lyngdoh and party candidate from Sohra, Alan West Kharkongor.