By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 23: The Synjuk ki Nongsynshar Shnong Par Umkhen and 15 villages on Tuesday renewed their opposition to the proposed “Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management Facility” at Nonghali, after being barred from taking part in the public hearing organised by the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board.
Given this position, the state government now faces a challenge to shift the Marten landfill from the city outskirts to Nonghali.
Talking to reporters after the public hearing ended, Synjuk president Supara Rngaid said they will meet soon to ensure that the project does not move forward.
“We are ready to go to any extent to stop this,” he warned.
Rngaid said the Synjuk does not want the hearing to be deemed successful since they were excluded from it. He alleged the Dorbar Shnong Nonghali deployed volunteers to prevent their participation. He said thousands of them had arrived to attend the event.
“This is not about showing our strength. Our concern is for the future generations,” Rngaid said, clarifying that the protest is not against the residents of Nonghali but against the project which, he claimed, will impact the Umkhen River.
The state government had earlier assured that no waste management plant or landfill would be set up at Lum Sohlait, Nonghali, without the consent of the locals.
Earlier in the day, a majority of villagers from nearby areas were prevented from attending the public hearing.
Residents of Nonghali reportedly allowed only ten representatives from adjoining villages to take part and blocked a large number of others. The session had already begun when the restrictions were enforced.
Magistrates and police personnel were deployed to manage the situation and avert any possible confrontation between Nonghali residents and those from neighbouring villages.
Meanwhile, Hunbok Mynsong, who is the Rangbah Shnong of Nonghali, has clarified that volunteers, deployed by the Dorbar Shnong during the public hearing, were asked to ensure the maintenance of peace and prevent disruptions.
Mynsong said the move was necessary as some protestors carrying placards could have created disturbances. “We wanted to ensure that the hearing passed off peacefully without any disruption,” he said,
adding that the volunteers also assisted the police in maintaining law and order.
He stressed that the district administration had made it clear that all were free to participate in the hearing. According to him, five to six individuals, who attended the hearing, raised objections to the project.
Questioning the motives of leaders from the 15 villages for mobilising a large crowd, Mynsong argued that most of these villages will not be directly affected by the project.
He said the Dorbar Shnong urged the government not to release sewage and waste into the Umkhen River which happened at Marten.
“If the government fails to take the necessary precautions, we will have no hesitation in demanding the scrapping of the project,” he warned.
Stating that the Nonghali residents will be the ones directly impacted, he said they are satisfied with the assurances and the clarifications given by the government.
