SHILLONG, Oct 20: Enraged over the lack of employment opportunities for youths of the state and repeated pleas to the government to initiate the recruitment process falling on deaf ears, members of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Movement (HNYM) on Thursday took out a protest rally against the state government while cautioning that the adamant attitude of the government would lead to more massive protests in future.
The HNYF has been demanding a law to ensure that local youths of the state find employment opportunities in the private sector.
The rally started from Shillong Civil Hospital junction, took a round of the Secretariat and ended at the starting point. “Down, down, MDA Government,” the protestors shouted after the rally began.
Recalling that they had submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma in 2021 on the issue of unemployment in Meghalaya, HNYM joint secretary Wyraiwan Sohtun said, “Today’s rally is to remind the government of the memorandum that we had submitted and we are serious about it.”
“It is a very small rally today but be rest assured that if the MDA Government does not take the issue seriously we are going to launch a series of protests against the government,” he cautioned.
He also said that the HNYM did not believe in going to each and every private firm and shutting it down as is the trend, but wanted the government to enact laws to provide employment opportunities for the youth.
“The government should make a law and pass it in the Assembly making it compulsory for the private sector to employ local youths,” he said, while arguing that white collar jobs were scarce and if the private sector did not cater to the locals they would have nowhere to go.
“Every now and then, politicians say the future of the state lies in our youth but the question is what have they done for the youth? They talk so much but do very little,” he added.
He made it clear that the HNYM did not want the job quota of 40% for Khasis and Jaintia and 40% for Garos to be disturbed.
