By Our Reporter
Shillong, Dec 6: The KSU on Wednesday asked the state government to immediately relocate the Mazhabi Sikhs and other Dalit residents from Them Iew Mawlong.
“We have given enough time to the government to relocate the people who are settling in Them Iew Mawlong. It is time to relocate them and there should not be any more delay on the part of the government,” KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah told reporters on the eve of the meeting between the state government and the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC).
Stating that the issue has remained unresolved since 1995, he said there was loss of precious lives in 1996 and 2008 in clashes between the residents and the local indigenous people.
“The government has been assuring since 1995 to relocate them from the present site. The last time it made an assurance was in 2018. But nothing has happened till date. I fail to understand why the government is so soft since it refuses to use force to remove them,” he said.
He asked why the government is giving special treatment to them. The government needs to act as per the wishes of the people, he categorically stated.
Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, who is also in charge of Urban Affairs Department, said the meeting on Thursday will be held to resolve the Harijan Colony issue.
Talking to reporters, Dhar said the HPC is seeking a slight modification of the blueprint prepared by the government.
The KSU, meanwhile, said they are not a hundred per cent against the introduction of railways in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region.
“What we are asking is that there should be a mechanism like ILP or MRSSA to protect the local indigenous people from being swamped by the people from outside,” Thabah told reporters. He said he totally endorsed the observation made by UDP’s Nongpoh MLA, Mayralborn Syiem that the introduction of goods train is important but what is more important is the implementation of ILP and MRSSA to protect the rights of indigenous people.
On many occasions, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said that the movement of goods trains will benefit the farmers of the state.
But the KSU general secretary asked, “How will it benefit our people when we do not have a mechanism to regulate the entry of people from outside? We don’t want to witness a situation where we will become a minority in our own state.”
Meanwhile, Thabah said the KSU had submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
“We incorporated our demand in the memorandum for the implementation of ILP and the withdrawal of the Indo-Nepal treaty. But sadly, the Centre is still examining it,” Thabah lamented.
Pointing out that Meghalaya has been demanding ILP since 1985, he said the Centre gave it to Manipur after just one agitation.
“The Centre had given ILP to Manipur only after three resolutions were passed by the state government. My question to the Centre is why it is treating Meghalaya so indifferently,” the KSU general secretary added.