Groups ask Conrad & Agatha to follow father’s principles, end border woes

TURA, Feb 4: As tall promises have started to emerge in election manifestos in poll-bound Meghalaya, combined groups from Garo Hills region have made a fervent appeal to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Tura MP Agatha K Sangma to follow the principles of their father PA Sangma and look into the tribulations of the villagers in border areas in the state, especially in the wake of both Assam and Meghalaya signing the border memorandum of understanding (MoU).
“PA Sangma, while he was the MP, always used to say that he was the first to be there whenever Garos were in difficulties. He claimed that he went to Assam, Tripura and other parts of the country and even to Bangladesh to meet them and try to address their issues. Today, however, we see no such acts from the Chief Minister and the Tura MP, which is an irony,” said FKJGP president Pritam Arengh in a video interview on Friday, as he was flanked by leaders of AYWO, ADE and FAF.
A memorandum calling for action against various incidents of harassment meted out to border villagers by Assam officials, following after the signing of the border pact, was submitted to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on August 23 last year.
Friday’s appeal by the groups came after no action was taken on the matter till date.
Several incidents of harassment have taken place soon after the signing of the border pact, including one at a particular disputed village when Assam officials along with police came to an areca nut plantation, belonging to a Garo, and destroyed a total of 6,290 trees, claiming that the land was part of Assam.
“This is not a small number. A lot of time, labour and resources would have gone into it. Interestingly, there was no notice served by the Assam administration prior to the incident,” Arengh said.
A similar incident of harassment had taken place at Malang Salbari when the villagers were constructing a godown for community use when Assam officials reportedly tried to stop the construction and harass the people.
There was yet another incident at Garojan village in Goalpara, Assam, when Garo villagers were physically assaulted by the Assam police following a feud between two groups.
A father and son, who were bringing livestock from Dhupdhara, were also apprehended in Assam, and were later accused of smuggling cattle, which was seized along with cash amounting to Rs 90,000.
“The Chief Minister is fond of saying ‘Babani Jumang’, which translates to ‘My father’s dreams’. Pursuing one’s father’s dreams is not a bad thing but he should follow his father’s principles as well. All we ask is that the CM and the MP meet these people and try to resolve their issues. He should also take up the matter with his Assam counterpart so that their ordeal comes to an end,” Pritam said.