MAWKYRWAT, Nov 24: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), through its Balat Border Area Circle, Lawbah Border Area Circle, and Sawsymper Circle, in collaboration with the KSU South West Khasi Hills, has resumed its agitation demanding the upgrade of Mawsynram C&RD Block into a Civil Subdivision.
As part of its agitation, the KSU on Saturday conducted a signature campaign at Pongkung village, which was participated by hundreds of residents of Saw Symper area.
The participants, during the campaign, urged the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government to heed their long-standing demand and avoid politicising the issue, which, they maintained, has been a decades-old dream for the people of Mawsynram.
“We have every reason as a Union and as the people of Mawsynram to come to the streets again. Our demand has fallen on deaf ears. We’ve been conducting peaceful agitations since August, but this government seems to pay no attention,” Bonsen Snaitang, president of KSU Balat Border Area Circle, said.
“However, the Union has decided that we will not sit idle till we achieve this demand, which is the most important thing for the people of Mawsynram area. We have organised this signature campaign in almost every corner of Mawsynram area as we wanted that every citizen should understand the importance of this issue and work together with the Union in this fight,” Snaitang added.
He also announced that before taking further steps, the KSU will hold a public meeting-cum-signature campaign at Mawsynram Market on December 20 to decide on strengthening their agitation. Meanwhile, publicity secretary of the KSU South West Khasi Hills, Macdonald Marbaniang, warned the government against prolonged inaction on the demand for the upgrade of Mawsynram C&RD Block.
He said that if the government continued to remain silent on the demand, the KSU and the general public would storm the State Secretariat to make the former understand the plight of Mawsynram.