Members of the union claimed to have detected
more than 100 people without proper documents
From Our Correspondent
NONGPOH, July 6: Hundreds of members of the central body of the Khasi Students’ Union, led by its president Lambokstar Marngar and general secretary Donald Thabah, erected an inner line permit (ILP) check gate at Pahammawlein village – locally called 20mer – on National Highway 6 in the Ri-Bhoi district on Saturday.
They did so to register their protest against the state government’s alleged reluctance to address the issue of “illegal influx” into Meghalaya.
Throughout the day, the KSU leaders and members stopped vehicles on NH6 and checked the documents of non-tribal individuals entering the state. Those without valid documents were asked to return to their states of origin.
The union members also inspected the abandoned Umling Facilitation Centre, which was once used as a checking point adhering to COVID-19 protocols.
A Ri-Bhoi magistrate and police did not take long to arrive at the scene, urging the KSU leaders and members to remove the ILP check gate set up in the area.
Marngar and Thabah said this was not the first time that the union set up an ILP check gate in the area. The union members took a similar step when the Centre declined to implement the ILP in Meghalaya and the state government failed to implement the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA).
The KSU said the Centre should know that the demand for ILP was not restricted to the members of the union. It said the people of Meghalaya have been seeking the permit system since the state’s 60 MLAs adopted a unanimous resolution in this regard.
The union leaders warned of similar forms of agitation if the central government fails to implement the ILP.
They claimed that within a few hours of checking, the union detected more than 100 people entering the state without proper documents. They criticised the government’s infiltration check gate at Byrnihat, describing it as a “body without brains” for its failure to check the entry of “illegal immigrants”.
