By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 6: The Centre may soon abandon the idea of connecting Shillong with railways.
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday said the central government would not wait too long and there is every possibility of the Shillong project being cancelled.
Pointing out that the railway projects in Ri-Bhoi and East Khasi Hills have been put on hold, Sangma said talks are on with the Centre for diverting the funds for the Shillong project to the Jaintia Hills areas.
The state government is also conducting a study to connect Khliehriat in East Jaintia Hills with the railway after discussions with the stakeholders including the local community, he said.
However, the Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU) has put a spanner in the government’s plans by opposing the bid to bring the railway line to the Jaintia Hills.
“We request the CM to develop proper educational institutions, hospitals, and good roads in the Jaintia Hills besides facilitating the implementation of the inner line permit,” the union said in a statement on Thursday.
“We understand that railway connectivity can have numerous benefits, including improved transportation, economic growth, and enhanced connectivity with other regions. But for a small state like Meghalaya, occupied mostly by tribal people, it is necessary for the government to first bring in the ILP system to regulate the entry of outsiders and protect the local culture, resources, and population of the region,” the union said.
The JSU, however, clarified that its opposition does not necessarily negate the need for railways in the Jaintia Hills.
Various pressure groups in the Khasi Hills are against putting Shillong on the country’s railway map fearing the train services would lead to a large-scale influx of outsiders into the state.
Successive governments have put the Shillong project in cold storage ever since the construction work for the Tetelia (Assam)-Byrnihat stretch was stopped in 2016-17. Bowing to the demands of the pressure groups, no government tried to revive the project.
The KHADC has also declined to issue NOC for the project owing to the opposition from the pressure groups.
The pressure groups want the Centre to implement the ILP system or any other mechanism to protect the indigenous communities before the Shillong project is pursued.
Meghalaya is the only state in the Northeast where the Railway Ministry’s plan to connect all state capitals has come unstuck. The resistance to the railway in the Khasi Hills has been on for four decades.
