By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 20: DGP Idashisha Nongrang on Monday said the police will not tolerate the extortion of truckers on National Highways and take extreme measures when required. She said the issue is worrying officials in the police headquarters and the secretariat as well.
“This is unfortunate. This has become more and more open in the last few years,” the DGP said.
“I am not saying we will wipe it out totally but to the extent possible, we will make sure it is not an everyday affair,” Nongrang said.
She said efforts will be made to fill up the vacant posts in the police force. The matter pertaining to recruitment is pending in the High Court, she said, adding the police has adhered to the laid down provisions for recruitment.
She also said that there is a well laid plan for the recruitment process and Meghalaya police will take a lead from Assam to ensure that the target for recruitment is achieved.
‘Will strike balance between
livelihood and illegal coal mining’
Nongrang also said she will try to strike a balance between livelihood and illegal mining of coal and its transportation in the state.
She said the police tried to control illegal mining of coal and its transportation. At the same time, she said the issue entails the livelihood of a large number of people.
She said the police received a lot of instructions from the government following the orders of the National Green Tribunal, Justice (retired) BP Katakey-headed single-member committee and the High Court of Meghalaya.
On traffic congestion in Shillong, Nongrang stressed on a holistic approach. She said the police alone cannot solve the problem. She said while the number of roads has remained the same for the last 50 years, 10 new vehicles are being registered in East Khasi Hills every single day.
Speaking about the underperformance of the youth from the state in the civil services examination, Nongrang said they should be able to work hard with dedication to become an IPS or IAS officer. She said the youth of Meghalaya have not been challenged as none from the state cleared the exam this year while 10 from Manipur cracked it despite all the troubles there.
Nongrang said of the 10 from Manipur, 3 studied in Shillong while one prepared for the exam here. She said it will be wrong to say Shillong does not have an education system for candidates to succeed in the UPSC examinations which have become more competitive.
Recalling that many from Meghalaya cleared the exams before, she said the youth need to understand that a greater amount of effort is required to clear this examination. She lamented that the youth of Meghalaya give up easily.
On her thoughts about a separate Meghalaya cadre, she said it is not a good suggestion as Meghalaya is a small state. She said there is a roster system in the Union government where only one-third of the vacancies go to the “insiders” (locals).
She said although Nagaland has a separate cadre and many from the state clear the civil services exam, yet very few get to the Nagaland cadre. She said if Meghalaya had a separate cadre, she would not have been the DGP of the state.