By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 2: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Monday asked the state government to recall PSOs provided to MLAs and “defeated politicians” who do not have any security threat and post these personnel in the border areas to defend Meghalaya’s territorial integrity.
VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said there is a shortage of police personnel in the interstate border areas but the state government is providing PSOs to politicians without any security threats.
The VPP’s demand comes a day after JHADC’s Barato-Mukroh MDC, Aiborlang Shadap criticised the state government for its alleged step-motherly treatment to the police personnel deployed along the state’s border with Assam.
“I feel ashamed that our police personnel deployed at the border outposts are very weak,” Shadap said, referring to alleged lack of firepower, manpower and other logistical support.
Alleging that the government is treating the personnel like orphans, he said Assam police personnel, manning the border, are well-equipped to deal with any situation but the Meghalaya personnel are not equipped at all.
Citing an example, Shadap said the police battalion from Lumshnong in East Jaintia Hills, deployed at Lapangap for the past one month, is armed with only “lathis and shields”.
Shadap had said the number of Meghalaya police personnel deployed at the border is far less compared to that of Assam. He said the government should have deployed a company each of the police at Saba, Mukroh and Barato, fully equipped with arms and ammunition.
Relocation of tree
saplings opposed
The Hynniewtrep Border Dispute Redressal Forum (HBDRF) has endorsed the decision of the Lapangap Dorbar Shnong not to uproot and relocate tree saplings that were planted at Moopyrdet under Lapangap.
The decision to remove the saplings and plant them elsewhere was taken during a meeting held on September 28 which was attended by the DCs and SPs of West Jaintia Hills and West Karbi Anglong districts.
However, the very next day, the Lapangap Dorbar Shnong held a meeting and decided to stand against the decision.
The Forum questioned why trees planted by villagers in their own land have to be uprooted.
“The decision taken by the West Jaintia Hills DC will encourage the Karbis to encroach inch by inch into our land,” the Forum remarked.
The Forum also slammed the decision taken at the CM-level meeting in Guwahati on September 30 to deploy CRPF personnel in the border areas and said the force could be manipulated by Assam.
The Forum demanded that Meghalaya Police personnel should be merges with the central force to understand the language of the locals residing in the border areas.