By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 23: The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) members on Thursday dismantled around 80 illegal structures at Lum Survey.
HYC president Roy Kupar Synrem said they decided to dismantle these structures after the district administration failed to take any action even after two weeks of the joint inspection of the area.
“We had asked the district administration and the Defence Estate Officer (DEO) to immediately evict the illegal settlers from the said land. We went ahead because we did not receive any word from them till today,” he said.
He said the HYC took the action to send a strong message that it is a pressure group that means business.
Synrem claimed his organisation received information that the drug dealers among the settlers who had left during the joint inspection returned on Wednesday thinking the HYC would forget about its eviction deadline.
“We cannot allow people involved in drug dealing to resume their illegal activities from this place,” he said, adding that the illegal settlers were advised to take their belongings and leave the place before the dismantling of their houses began.
The HYC president said his group had an excavator ready but did not use it since dismantling the settlements was not difficult.
Meanwhile, a majority of the shops in the Motphran area closed down when the HYC members took out a procession after dismantling the 80 dwellings at Lum Survey. Some HYC members were seen asking the shop owners and shopkeepers to down the shutters of their shops.
The HYC members also organised a small gathering at the Motphran main junction.
Addressing the gathering, the HYC’s Mawlai Circle president, Donboklang Kharlyngdoh said they took the drastic step as the district administration did nothing to evict the illegal settlers. He also accused the incumbent district head of trying to protect the illegal immigrants. He said the HYC was concerned as Lum Survey had become a den for drug dealing.
The additional magistrate and officials of the DEO, Guwahati, Shillong Municipal Board, Shillong Cantonment Board, police and members of the HYC carried out the joint inspection on May 8.
Earlier, Synrem had warned that the HYC would take matters into their own hands if the authorities concerned failed to evict the illegal settlers.