From Our Correspondent
JOWAI, Dec 3: The central body of the Jaintia Students’ Movement (JSM) has urged the Deputy Commissioner of West Jaintia Hills district not to let any Assam-based group or government agency obstruct the road construction work being carried out by the Meghalaya PWD at Khatkasla-Psiar under the Laskein C&RD Block.
In a letter to the DC on Wednesday, the JSM stated that the Karbi Students’ Association (KSA) has been pressuring the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) to halt the road construction work following its team’s visit to the area on December 1.
The Meghalaya PWD began working on the road in November, starting from the Kurelia-Khatkasla bridge to the Psiar-Mowluber village on the interstate border. Rs 4.57 crore was sanctioned for the project.
The JSM urged the DC to take necessary action so that the KSA, KAAC, or any other group, including the Assam Police, can disrupt the road work. It also appealed to both sides to maintain peace and harmony along the Assam-Meghalaya border and ensure all developmental works continue smoothly.
In a related development, the Lapangap unit of the JSM, led by its president Heyboime Myrphet, submitted a letter to Home Minister Prestone Tynsong via the West Jaintia Hills DC, opposing the Assam government’s plan to construct a police outpost at Lum Pynthor. The site is in Lapangap.
The JSM condemned the Assam government’s “act of overstepping its authority” with the intention to construct the outpost without informing or seeking approval from the authorities in Meghalaya. It urged the Meghalaya government to halt Assam’s plan to set up the outpost immediately.
The organisation threatened “strong measures” if the state government does not take the matter seriously or fails to act against Assam’s bid to establish the police outpost.
The situation in Lapangap has returned to a state of peace following recent violence and tension with Assam’s Karbi villagers. Authorities from both Meghalaya and Assam have deployed police, and the two state governments are working to resolve the underlying border dispute through the regional committees.
