KSU asks govt, MTDF to stop dreaming about railways

SHILLONG, Oct 25: The KSU on Friday asked the state government and the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) to stop dreaming about introduction of High Speed Luxury Rail Network (HSLRN) in Shillong.
In a statement on Friday, KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah said that the state government should instead focus on improving the education and healthcare system, bring transparency in the recruitment process, come up with stringent mechanism to deal with the problem of drugs and improve the overall infrastructure in the state, especially good road connectivity.
He said that the students’ body cannot remain silent on the eagerness of a few associations to bring rail connectivity not only till Byrnihat but even to Shillong.
“We have been consistent in our stand that we will oppose the proposal to introduce railways in Khasi-Jaintia Hills till the government is able to come up with a strong mechanism to deal with the problem of influx and illegal immigration,” Thabah said.
Asserting that the KSU is not against development as has been often alleged, he said the students’ body understands that it would be impossible to track people who enter the state once railway is introduced without a strong legislation to deal with influx.
He reminded the members of the Bri U Hynniewtrep about their fight since 1979.
He claimed that attempts are being made to forcefully snatch the rights of the indigenous population and pointed to instances where non-Khasis have attacked locals.
The KSU general secretary reiterated the need for a strong legislation to deal with influx like ILP and MRSSA and also demanded that the cut-off year for recognising outsiders as permanent residents of Meghalaya should be March 25, 1971.
He expressed surprise over the argument that the state will go backward if ILP is implemented and that people will suffer since there will be no development and the economy will crash.
Thabah claimed that the per capita income of ILP states like Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh is higher as compared to Meghalaya.
The KSU general secretary also stated that Mizoram and Manipur are not connected by railways but the price of essential commodities are cheaper in these two states.