 protested against the alleged setting up of boundary pillars by the Assam government in villages under Hima Jirang, in front of the Main Secretariat building, on the afternoon of March 12. ){kind=link}
Staff Reporter
SHILLONG:
Members of the Hynniewtrep Achik National Movement (HANM) protested against the alleged setting up of boundary pillars by the Assam government in villages under Hima Jirang, in front of the Main Secretariat building, on the afternoon of March 12.
Members of the pressure group threw a boundary pillar outside the gate of the building and shouted slogans in front of the gate, before dispersing. Following the incident, security forces, deployed outside the gate, immediately locked the main gate. Later, HANM members went to the office of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and staged a similar demonstration.
Authorities of the Hima Jirang alleged that Assam has set up boundary pillars in Umshru, Umshalani, Amring, Narling, Domupaham, Patharkhaïong villages, adding that Umshru does not even fall under area of dispute between Assam and Meghalaya.
“Why has Assam erected boundary pillars in Hima Jirang villages even as the two states have sent their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the border issue to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)?” asked Lamphrang Kharbani, HANM president, adding that the pressure group stage the protest to ask the state government how did the boundary pillars of Assam landed in Meghalaya territory.
He also said that the Khasi Hill Autonomous District Council (KHADC), being the watchdog and protector of the lands of the indigenous, has failed to protect the boundaries of the areas under its jurisdiction.
“And if it has failed to do so, the existence of district council is questionable. Both the government and district council are answerable to the people of the state,” the HANM president said, adding that the council should summon the Syiem of Hima Jirang to clarify on the matter.
Kharbani also said that the action of the Assam government show that they are “land grabbers”. “On one hand, the government of Assam is holding talks to resolve the border dispute, but on the other, is grabbing our land,” Kharbani added.