KSU slams Chavan's uranium statement

Shillong: Khasi Students' Union today criticised Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Prithviraj Chavan for his statement in Lok Sabha claiming that majority of people in Meghalaya supported uranium mining in the state.

Terming his statement as "misleading and unfair", KSU general secretary Hamletson Dohling said, "It is an attempt to mislead the people. The statement is far from the truth."

Chavan, on Wednesday had told Lok Sabha that "Department of Atomic Energy and Uranium Corporation of India Limted have for the last five years been regularly conducting awareness programmes to clear the misconceptions regarding uranium mining in West Khasi Hills district. This has resulted in a large majority of people to support the project although there is still some opposition towards it."

"The minister should speak the truth. Majority of people are against uranium mining," Dohling said.

He said a public hearing conducted on the issue two years back has "established that the majority of people are opposed to uranium mining."

"Such statements by a minister who had not visited the state affect the sentiments of the people," KSU leader said.

Under pressure from various agitating organisations led by KSU, Meghalaya government had earlier this month put on hold UCIL's pre-mining developmental works.

Meghalaya concern over encroachment

Local residents miffed with road construction by Assam

Shillong, Nov. 28 : Meghalaya today expressed concern over reports of encroachment by Assam onto its territory in Ri Bhoi district.

Prestone Tynsong, the chairman of the special committee on inter-state border and state revenue minister told reporters today that a delegation of people from the Paigoan area of Ri Bhoi district met him yesterday and apprised him about an incident of encroachment on November 14.

According to the people of the area, an Assam-based contractor had carried out earth work and filling of roads in the area without the knowledge of the local people.

Tynsong said he had instructed the Ri Bhoi deputy commissioner to speak to his Assam counterpart regarding the fresh attempt of encroachment into Meghalaya territory by way of construction of a road in the Paigoan area of the district.

“We want Assam to stop the road construction as both sides are maintaining status quo as far as the boundary dispute is concerned,” the revenue minister said.

Ri Bhoi additional deputy magistrate I.W. Ingty and the circle inspector of Khanapara police station had visited the area on November 18. The magistrate had also instructed the contractor to stop the work and attend a meeting at the deputy commissioner’s office.

However, after the contractor did not attend the meeting, the magistrate had reported the issue to chief secretary W.M.S. Pariat seeking the state government’s intervention.

According to Tynsong, Meghalaya would not oppose development, but since status quo was being maintained, Assam should try to stop construction in the disputed border area.

“If at all Assam wants to carry out construction in the disputed inter-state border, it can be done through mutual understanding,” he said.

Tynsong also said it was only on November 11 that the first meeting of the special joint committee on inter-state border was held at Byrnihat, which decided to sort out the border dispute amicably.

The meeting had decided to examine 12 areas of differences once Meghalaya handed over the details of the disputed areas. Tynsong said he had asked the state department officials today to hand over the details regarding the areas of differences so that the matter could be taken up at the next meeting.
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Chest of mystery lie buried in Meghalaya Raj Bhavan

Shillong, Nov 22 An iron chest, lying buried in the Meghalaya Raj Bhavan for more than 50 years, has baffled successive incumbents whose all efforts to open it have drawn a blank.

The 5? by 2?-foot chest, whose ancestry is not known and which weighs more than several tonnes, lay buried below the wooden floor in the main corridor of the Raj Bhavan.

Bearing a copper plaque upon which is inscribed 'HOBBS, HART & Co. Ltd. Patentees and Manufacturers, London', the chest has aroused curiosity of all its high-profile custodians who had to leave at the end of their tenure knowing little of what lay inside.

Like his predecessors, Governor R S Mooshahary has tried every means to unlock the mystery inside the chest but failed.

"I am living here and I must know what is inside the chest. Previous Governors have tried to open it.

Coal miners to seek Lanong help

Shillong, Nov. 21: Coal mine owners and miners of Meghalaya held a meeting here today under the banner of the Joint Forum on Mining Policy and decided to meet deputy chief minister in-charge (mining) Bindo Lanong on Tuesday to urge him to go slow on the draft mining policy.

The state mining department recently released the draft mining policy, seeking suggestions from the people.

The meeting expressed concern over the current draft mining policy, which, according to the miners, went against the interests of the people.

The spokesperson for the forum, Honsen Lyngdoh, told reporters that the forum would meet the minister and ask him to take all the stakeholders into confidence while adopting the policy.

The doubts being raised by various organisations are that the state government was trying to nationalise the coal mines, which will go against Meghalaya’s land tenure system. At present, Meghalaya is exempted from the purview of the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973 as the land is owned by individuals and not by the government.

“We want more involvement of all the stakeholders and the government should give time to express our views,” Lyngdoh said.

Earlier, the East Jaintia Coal Miners and Owners Association urged the government to keep in abeyance its plan to implement the proposed mining policy.

The association, a major organisation of mine owners and miners in the Jaintia Hills, also asked the government to constitute a joint advisory committee to draft a useful mining policy.

The NCP, in a meeting held on Thursday, had opposed the proposed mining policy of the government.

NCP leader P.A. Sangma said though the NCP was not against scientific mining, the role, privileges and involvement of the tribals should not be overlooked.

According to Sangma, any policies, which deny the rights of the tribals, could not be acceptable.

He also suggested the need to set up mining schools and colleges in every district of the state.

Sangma wants Hasina to visit Meghalaya

Former speaker of Indian parliament Purno A Sangma said he would arrange a tour for Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the north-eastern state of Meghalaya during her official visit to India next month.

Sangma, a senior leader of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), believes that her visit to the north-eastern state would help boost trade between the two countries.

"I am having discussions with External Affairs Ministry about Hasina's visit to India next month and trying to fix a tour to Shillong and Tura on her itinerary," he told reporters in Shillong on Thursday.

NCP is a constituent of the Congress party-led government and Sangma's daughter Agatha is a federal minister.

Sangma said there is scope for both West Bengal and the north-eastern region to trade with Bangladesh and that is why her visit is "very important".

Such a high-profile visit would give a major boost to trade-ties between Bangladesh and the north-eastern region of India, Sangma mentioned.

He also referred to issues like the proposed Shillong-Sylhet bus service and the transit route of vehicles from north-eastern India through Bangladesh that would be discussed with Hasina.

Four Bangla infiltrators arrested in Meghalaya

GUWAHATI: BSF jawans have apprehended four Bangladeshi infiltrators along the border with the neigbouring country in Meghalaya over the past two days.

The quartet have been identified as Jamal Hussain, Md Sadik, Md Ismail, and Md Dulal Miya, all Bangladeshi nationals. They were nabbed while they were trying to cross over to India.

In the past few months, the BSF has stepped up its drive against trans-border movement and smuggling. The jawans have also seized many contraband items.

The BSF jawans deployed at the border outpost at Belabore nabbed the three Bangladeshi nationals in West Garo Hills of Meghalaya on Monday morning. All the three are from Dhutnai village of Sherpur district in Bangladesh.

On Sunday, Jamal Hussain from Assampara village in Sylhet district of Bangladesh was apprehended by BSF personnel posted at Naljuri border outpost while they were intruding into Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya.

BSF officials (Assam & Meghalaya Frontier) said jawans of the force have seized cattle, oranges, country-made boats, forest produce and other contraband items from the border area while they were being smuggled to Bangladesh through Assam's Dhubri district and the hilly area of Meghalaya. The estimated cost of the seized items is Rs 22.30 lakh.

All the four Bangladeshi nationals and items seized have been handed over to Meghalaya Police and other departments concerned for legal action.

Educate people on mining, Paul told

Shillong, Nov. 15: The AICC has asked Meghalaya urban affairs minister Paul Lyngdoh who is camping in Delhi to educate the people of the state on the need of uranium mining in Meghalaya.

Lyngdoh rushed to Delhi on Friday after reports of several Congress legislators demanding his removal from the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) ministry for his change of stand on uranium mining.

While a section of the Congress is demanding his removal, there are others who are putting pressure on the lone KHNAM member to join the Congress.

Lyngdoh, during the August 24 cabinet meeting had supported the move of the cabinet to go ahead with the pre-mining development projects in the uranium mining sites of West Khasi Hills. However, during the KSU-sponsored agitation, Lyngdoh asked the government to go slow on the project and demanded a white paper on the whole aspects related to mining.

When Lyngdoh was the KSU president he had objected to uranium mining tooth and nail. After as many as seven legislators had rushed to Delhi to demand dropping of Lyngdoh from the ministry, Lyngdoh had no alternative but to meet the AICC leaders in Delhi.

The AICC secretary in-charge, Meghalaya, Maj. (retd) Ved Parakash, told The Telegraph that Lyngdoh should make efforts to convince the people of the state the benefits of uranium mining in the state.

“There are a number of countries which mine uranium scientifically and if we can mine uranium in Meghalaya, there will be over all development of West Khasi Hills district,” Prakash said.

According to Prakash, Lyngdoh should educate people that the villagers can avail a lot of development packages once mining is undertaken.

Prakash will arrive in Shillong tomorrow to discuss the political situation and meet party workers.

During his stay in Delhi Lyngdoh met AICC general secretary in-charge, Northeast, L. Faleiro, and senior AICC leader Ahmed Patel.

An AICC source said the leaders got an assurance from Lyngdoh that he would do whatever he can to initiate measures to educate people on the merits of uranium mining.