By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 10: Mawhati MLA Charles Marngar on Monday expressed concern over the increasing migration of youth from Meghalaya to other states in search of employment opportunities. This concern follows the recent tragedy in Tinsukia district, Assam, where two local youths from Meghalaya lost their lives in an illegal rat-hole mine.
Attending the funeral of the deceased youths on Monday, Marngar lamented the loss of these “precious lives” and criticized the state’s inability to provide sufficient employment opportunities. He highlighted that many people from Meghalaya are compelled to seek hazardous jobs in other states, such as rat-hole mining, due to the lack of job creation within the state.
Marngar recalled that the MDA 2 Government had made significant promises about providing employment to the youth shortly after taking office. However, he expressed disappointment that these promises remain unfulfilled, forcing many young people to leave Meghalaya in search of work.
“The government should take this matter seriously and rethink its strategy,” he urged.
The tragic incident involved the retrieval of the bodies of two Ri-Bhoi coal miners from a mine in Tinsukia, Assam, on Saturday. They were cremated on Monday in their respective villages in Mawhati. The deceased were identified as John Nongrum from Jatah village and Phiniellin Umbah from Korhadem village, both under Mawhati.
A few days earlier, the body of another miner, Dawa Sherpa from Bhojpur, Nepal, was also recovered. The three miners had been trapped in the coal mine following a landslide on May 25.