SHILLONG:
Cabinet Minister Kyrmen Shylla, on December 8, said that the views of the people of East Jaintia Hills (EJH) are important before taking any steps to bring railways into EJH.
“We have to understand if railways will benefit people or it will be against their interest. Hence, the most important thing for us as representatives is to get information from the public if they support railways in EJH or are against it, accordingly we will apprise the chief minister, and the government will decide on how to go about it,” he said.
Stating that some NGOs have sent memorandums opposing railways in EJH, Shylla said there are some who are in support of railways, and therefore homework needs to be done before the government comes to any conclusion.
“After that, if we feel that railways benefit the people in more ways than one, we will go for it,” he said
He said that a meeting will be convened with all the stakeholders early next year to discuss the railway projects in EJH, and accordingly a decision will be arrived at.
