Uranium: archbishop wants dialogue

Archbishop Dominic Jala of Shillong has called for dialogue to end agitations against a government plan to mine uranium in the hills of Meghalaya that many say threatens to displace people.

The Catholic Church favors more dialogue before the government takes any decision on uranium mining in the Christian dominated state, the prelate told media Oct. 28.

Thousands of people including groups of students, women and tribal organizations are opposing the project under the banner of Co-ordination Committee of Social Organisation (CCSO).

They protest Meghalaya government’s decision to allow the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to carry out pre-project development programs in 422 hectares of the uranium-rich areas.

The protestors say the project in uranium-rich areas of West Khasi Hills district in southern Meghalaya would alienate their precious land and displace thousands.

But Government looks adamant. “The uranium reserves in Meghalaya are a national property and no one can stop the government from using them,” Chief Minister D. D. Lapang told reporters.

“The government has waited for 20 long years to persuade people to allow uranium mining,” he pointed out.

But Archbishop Jala said “whether it is forest resources or any other resources serious consideration for humans is the most important thing.”

Pointing out that civilizations were lost because protection of human lives was put on the backburner in favor of development, the prelate said stressing the “need to defend the gifts of creation to protect humankind from self-destruction.”

“The Government should also stand by moral values and have an honest debate whether there is transparency and justice to everyone,” he observed.

However, he said the Church would not directly resort to agitation against the project, when told Coordination Committee of Social Organizations (CCSO) has plans to rope in religious leaders in their strike programs.

On Oct. 29, the Khasi Students Union (KSU), a prominent part of CCSO, temporarily suspended its road blockade after the government invited it for talks, officials said.

The KSU was to begin its third phase of a night road blockade Oct. 29 to protest proposed uranium mining in the West Khasi Hills district in the southern part of the state.

Chief Minister Lapang Oct. 28 said the government would hold discussions with protestors Nov 3.

The KSU’s three-phase road blockade started Oct 14 to protest the project. It some times turned violent and blocked passenger buses and goods-laden trucks on the national highways between Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.

The federal government has already allowed UCIL to start mining for the annual production of 375,000 tonnes of uranium ore and process 1,500 tonnes of the mineral ore per day in the district.

UCIL has proposed a Rs.1,046 crore open-cast uranium mining and processing plant. Meghalaya has an estimated 9.22 million tonnes of uranium ore deposits.

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Meghalaya top data provider

Shillong, Oct. 29: Meghalaya has topped the list of states and the Centre in providing information through the Right to Information Act, according to information commissioner G.P. Wahlang. He launched the Meghalaya Right to Information website today.

Wahlang quoted the major findings on the implementation of the RTI Act, 2008, presented during the national convention held in New Delhi in mid-October.

The Central Information Commission organised the convention.

Wahlang said here today that Meghalaya, with a success rate of 82 per cent, ranked first in providing information, followed by the Centre with 81 per cent.

The success rates decreased to nearly 29 per cent in the case of Karnataka and 23 per cent in Assam.

While Maharashtra has 16,000 pending cases, the Central Information Commission has 7,000.

Meghalaya, however, had only three pending cases. According to Wahlang, the penalty imposed in cases deposed by the Commissions was as high as 83.3 per cent in case of Nagaland, 28.1 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh and in Meghalaya, it stood at 4.4 per cent.

Among the success stories is one where the residents of Katarshnong near Cherrapunjee used the RTI Act to find whether the schemes meant for them were properly implemented.

The use of RTI was at its peak prior to the Assembly elections to probe the misuse of funds for projects by the legislators.

The residents of Nongstoin in West Khasi Hills also used the RTI Act effectively.

Wahlang cited several cases where punishment was meted out to RTI officials who refused to provide information within 30 days.

The penalised officials had to pay a fine of Rs 250 per day.

An executive engineer of the PHE department in the Garo hills paid more than Rs 15,000 for rejecting an RTI query by a group of contractors who failed to get their dues for work done for the department.

The official went to the extent of asking the applicants to withdraw the RTI application.

The official eventually had to pay a fine of Rs 15,000.

After the starting of Meghalaya Information Commission in 2006, there were 300 requests to provide information.

In 2007, there were 48 complaints regarding the delay in providing information and of these, fines were imposed on two officials who refused to co-operate.

From 2008 to this day, seven officials were penalised for not providing information in time.

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Human development report formally launched in M’laya

SHILLONG, Oct 29 : Meghalaya Chief Minister DD Lapang admitted that the State needed to do a lot more to lift up its position in human development index. Speaking at a function that marked the formal launching of the State Human Development Report today, Lapang openly acknowledged that the State’s progress in human development is poor. He himself pointed out the State’s 26th position in the all India Human Development Index, a ranking that should make the State Government to seriously needs to address.
“That our State’s achievement in terms of human development is urban centric, the rural areas are not accessible to health care, schools and other basic amenities”, admitted the Chief Minister, while assuring to make Meghalaya able to  harness its potential by making the most essential needs for human development reached to the rural areas.
“Meghalaya is considered as a state of unfulfilled potential and it is now time to transform it”, the Chief Minister while appreciating the independent and critical assessment made by the report promised to take those recommendations to enable the State address the shortcomings. He also said that a committee will be constituted to monitor the progress of the implemented Central and State Government schemes that aims at raising human development in the State. State Chief secretary Ranjan Chatterjee said that this research policy paper is a question of politics and economics. “This report will determine the marginalized people and also shape the government policies and programmes in reaching them”. Chatterjee is off the view that the report is crucial especially when the State is attempting to address the core issues of human developments in the State.
The State Human Development Report was finally published is part of the UNDP programme and its was finally published after soliciting the views from the Union Planning Commission, the various departments and other agencies.

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Lapang extends olive branch to anti-uranium groups

Shillong, Oct 28  Faced with growing protests against the proposed uranium mining project in the state, Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang has invited the agitating groups for a dialogue to end the impasse.

"We are ready to hold talks with the agitating groups, including the Khasi Students Union (KSU) and Coordination Committee of Social Organisation (CCSO), provided they suspend their agitational programmes," the Chief Minister told reporters here last night.

The KSU is spearheading a movement to mount pressure on the D D Lapang-led government to scrap its decision to allow UCIL to go ahead with its "pre-mining developmental projects" in the uranium-rich areas of West Khasi Hills district.

The government has proposed to hold a dialogue with the agitating groups on November 3.

The KSU has announced a fresh series of night road blockades from October 29 to protest against the project.

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Report sheds light on women

Shillong, Oct.27: The first Meghalaya human development report released by chief minister D.D. Lapang this evening pointed out that the prevalence of the matrilineal system does not guarantee gender equality and absence of gender-related bias.

The report said women in Meghalaya suffer from illiteracy, poverty, malnutrition, male drunkenness and family discord.

“Cases of domestic violence and sexual crimes are also not unheard of,” it said.

According to the report, there was a high incidence of violence against women in the form of rape, abduction and molestation despite society being matrilineal.

“The instances of family discord and broken homes seem to be on the increase,” the report said.

Alcoholism is still the bane of society, which causes domestic violence and broken homes, it said.

Stating that the families with single parents in the state are many, the report said it was always the mother who had to fend for the family when a home broke up.

The report also said violence against women and children should also be perceived in the context of drunkenness of the husband. When the husband is prone to drunkenness, it affects the wellbeing of the mother and children.

Despite being a matrilineal society, women also do not have much say in politics.

The report said when it came to public life, the mindset and long-held views and attitudes about women still posed a major obstacle for them to enter electoral politics.

“Authority in its real sense is the exclusive preserve of men. They are the sole inheritors of power. Politics and administration are considered the prerogative of men,” the report added.

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Bangladeshi intruders rape Indian woman in Meghalaya

Shillong, Oct 27  Tension prevailed in a number of Meghalaya villages on the border with Bangladesh after an Indian woman was raped by five Bangladeshi intruders. Four of the men have been arrested, police said here Tuesday.

The victim, a mother of two, was collecting firewood in Lakadong village in Jaintia Hills of eastern Meghalaya Sunday when she was raped by the Bangladeshis who had sneaked over the border, a police official said.

He told reporters: “As the woman did not return home till late in the evening, hundreds of villagers launched a search the next day (Monday) and found her lying unconscious in the jungle. She was shifted to a government health centre.”
The villagers immediately launched a manhunt in the area and managed to nab four of the intruders Monday.
The Bangladeshi nationals confessed to their involvement in the crime to the ‘Dorbar Shnong’, a traditional body of the village.
Later, they were handed over to police by the villagers.
Tension has been prevailing in the border villages after the incident. Senior Border Security Force and police officials have rushed to the spot with reinforcements, an official said.
Meghalaya shares a 443-km border with Bangladesh, part of which is porous, riverine and unfenced and is prone to frequent infiltration and occasional skirmishes.

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Meghalaya secretariat told to explain lapses

A protester pins a black badge on a government official at the secretariat on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Shillong, Oct. 26 : The Meghalaya home department has sought a detailed report from the secretariat administration department and police on the security lapses in the state secretariat after a delegation of pressure groups opposed to uranium mining barged into its premises on Friday.

However, the police maintained that prior warning was given to the secretariat officials about a possible entry of the protesters to the secretariat after the pressure groups had announced the agitation.

The anti-uranium mining group, under the banner the Co-ordination Committee of Social Organisation, entered the secretariat with black badges much to the embarrassment to those who man the secretariat.

The pressure groups, Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), Ri-Bhoi Youth Federation (RBYF), West Khasi Hills Students Union (WKHSU) Jaintia Youth Federation (JYF), and War Jaintia Students Union (WJSU), barged into the main secretariat and pinned black badges on the ministers, MLAs and officials.

The principal home secretary, Barkose Warjri, said the home department had asked the police and secretariat administration to find out what went wrong on Friday and submit a report.

Around 50 protesters avoiding the main gate of the secretariat had entered through the second gate where the people the building are not checked. Once inside, they dispersed to form groups of two and entered the rooms of the ministers and officials.

“Whatever happened at the secretariat should not have happened and we need to know how it happened,” Warjri said.

According to him, though it was a symbolic protest, the police should have been more careful.

The home department was surprised by the fact that though the CCSO had already announced its agitation, the police never thought that the protesters would pin black badges on ministers, MLAs and officials of the state secretariat.

The protesters chose the time when chief minister D.D. Lapang and senior ministers were not at the main secretariat.

When contacted, acting Meghalaya DGP B. Kezo said around 100 men from civil defence and homeguard department are on duty round the clock in the state secretariat.

“We do not understand what prevented the homeguards to act when the protesters barged into the secretariat,” he said.

Kezo made it clear that the police had warned the secretariat department earlier that there are chances that the protesters could enter the secretariat.

After getting the report from the secretariat officials, necessary steps will be taken to ensure proper security in the secretariat, he added.

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Jail break bid foiled in Meghalaya

Tura (Meghalaya), Oct 24 (PTI) Police today opened fire to foil a jailbreak attempt by some prisoners at the district jail here today.

Around 13 undertrial prisoners made an attempt to flee this morning. The guards first challenged them and later resorted to firing, in which one of the prisoners was injured, police said.

One of the prisoners attempted to commit suicide in fear by stabbing his stomach. He was admitted to the hospital along with the injured prisoner, they said.

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Anti-mining protesters barge into secretariat

Shillong, Oct. 24 : A delegation of pressure groups opposed to uranium mining in Meghalaya barged into the secretariat here this afternoon and pinned black badges on unwary ministers, legislators and officials in a unique protest against the cabinet’s nod to pre-development projects at the mining sites.

The “black badge protest” was staged after the Khasi Students Union-sponsored road blockade ended this morning.

The delegation members apparently did not face any opposition from the civil defence and home guards personnel posted at the secretariat, who cited ignorance about the purpose of their entry.

The protesters also placed black flags on official and public vehicles.

The delegation, under the banner of Co-ordination Committee of Social Organisation (CCSO), comprised the Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), Ri-Bhoi Youth Federation (RBYF), West Khasi Hills Students Union (WKHSU) Jaintia Youth Federation (JYF), and War Jaintia Students Union (WJSU).

The protesters, numbering around 50, avoided the main gate of the secretariat and entered through the second gate where persons making an entry are not checked.

Once inside, they dispersed in groups of two and barged into the rooms of the ministers and officials.

Emlang Lyttan, the president of FKJGP, said the committee was protesting against uranium mining and the cabinet decision to allow the Uranium Corporation of India Limited to carry out pre-development projects at the mining sites.

Besides the secretariat, the CCSO volunteers also entered several other government offices, asking officials to wear black badges.

“We have carried out a peaceful demonstration against uranium mining and though there was some resistance from the police initially at the main secretariat, the issue has been sorted out,” Lyttan said.

The protesters pinned black badges on revenue and PHE minister Prestone Tynsong from the Congress, HSPDP legislator H.S. Lyngdoh and several other officials.

Lyttan said some of the ministers “supported their cause” by allowing them to pin the black badges.

“The ministers, legislators and officials at the secretariat were not aware of the purpose of our visit and we wanted to keep it as our unique strategy to protest against uranium mining,” he said.

Besides Shillong in East Khasi Hills, the members of the CCSO also staged similar protests in Ri-Bhoi, West Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills districts.

However, the state police have drawn flak from the home department over the black badge protest as the committee had on Tuesday announced that it would observe October 23 as “black flag day” against uranium mining.

Moreover, the “surprise entry” by at least 50 volunteers of the CCSO came at a time when Section 144 CrPC was in force, making a mockery of the laws, apart from catching the police unawares.

When contacted, the state director-general of police B. Kezo said the police were not aware of the entry of the activists to the secretariat.

“The onus is on the civil defence and home guard personnel to ensure security at the secretariat,” he said.

Kezo downplayed the incident saying it was a peaceful protest. He, however, sought a detailed report from the East Khasi Hills superintendent of police, A.R. Mawthoh, on the incident.

The chief minister, a majority of ministers and officials have offices in the main secretariat.

Police last night picked up a chowkidar and four others who were allegedly involved in burning a part of a fruit-processing unit of the horticulture department in the city.

A computer and window curtains were burnt in the incident that took place at Risa Colony locality here around 10.45pm yesterday.

The state DGP said the chowkidar and others on night duty were drunk and that the police had picked four of them up for the crime.

Kezo said that since last night nine persons had been arrested for involvement in stone pelting and arson cases.

The KSU expressed concern over incidents of stone pelting and arson perpetrated by persons taking advantage of the night road blockade called by the union in protest against uranium mining.

“We are also concerned over incidents of stone throwing on vehicles belonging to the media during the agitation,” KSU education secretary Auguster Jyrwa said.

Jyrwa said that the KSU did not have any knowledge about those involved in the torching of government vehicles and offices.

On the call for a dialogue, the union leader said there was a lack of clarity on the nature of talks to be initiated by the government.

“In the letter issued to us, there is no mention about who will initiate the dialogue with us,” Jyrwa said.

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Meghalaya: SPs vehicle attacked, office torched in anti-uranium blockade

Shillong: A SP's vehicle was attacked, a government office torched and three persons were injured in separate incidents as violence continued during road blockade called by the Khasi Students Union (KSU) protesting against the proposed uranium mining project in Meghalaya.

Two youths were arrested yesterday after they attacked the vehicle of Jaintia Hills district SP Mukesh Singh with stones near Lad Rymbai, the police said adding A catapult, stones and a jerkin of kerosene were seized from the youths.

Though they denied being members fo the KSU, the possibility cannot be ruled out, said Singh who and his men were not hurt in the attack.

An office of the state agriculture department at Cleave Colony here was set ablaze by some youths last night. The fire was doused but not before it damaged furniture, computers and some other things inside the office, the sources said.

Miscreants also pelted stones at a truck in Upper Shillong, injuring three persons, including the driver. They have been admitted at the Military Hospital, the sources said.

Stray incidents of stone pelting and burning of tyres were also reported from various parts of the state during the night blockade which witnessed very thin vehicular movement.

The three-day night road blockade called against the state cabinets decision to lease land to the UCIL in the uranium rich areas of the state for pre-project developmental works ended at 5 am today.

Meanwhile, responding to talks offer from the government on uranium mining, the KSU said it was not averse to a dialogue.

"The government should specify with whom and on what agenda the discussions would take place," KSU general secretary Hamletson Dohling said.

The KSU has been opposing the uranium mining project claiming that it would cause health hazard, degrade environment and open floodgates for outsiders in the tribal state.

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Protesting students attack BSF convoy, injure 5 jawans

Shillong, Oct 22 Students, protesting against the proposed uranium mining project in Meghalaya, went on the rampage here today attacking a BSF convoy and injuring five jawans, besides setting ablaze five vehicles.

Police said the jawans were injured when their convoy was attacked near Umiam on the outskirts of the capital city on the second day of the Khasi Students Union (KSU)-sponsored three-day night road blockade.

Four jawans were admitted to the Shillong Civil Hospital. Another injured jawan was released after first aid.

Police said an office of the state horticulture department was set ablaze in West Khasi Hills district.

Two government vehicles were torched by petrol bombs in two different localities of Shillong. A private taxi was also torched in the city. A truck was set afire near Nongpoh in Ri Bhoi district.

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Meghalaya asked to take a leaf out of Arunachal book

SHILLONG, Oct 20: If Meghalaya needs to embark on the high road of development, addressing the problems of rural development brooks no delay. But the biggest drag on this sector, like all other sectors of the economy of this predominantly rural State, remains the absence of an institutional mechanism for formulation of appropriate policies and their implementation, the Meghalaya State Development Report, 2008-09 states. It says of the total population of 23,18,822 of Meghalaya as per 2001 census, 18,64,711 live in villages, accounting for 80.4 per cent of the total population. This is higher than the all-India average of 72.2 per cent. The report expresses grave concern that rural Meghalaya is marked by high incidence of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, poor infrastructure and absence of basic amenities. The present approach to rural development intervention involves initiatives towards improving the lot of the people through direct self-employment programmes on one hand, and indirect wage employment and infrastructure development programmes on the other, the report informs.

Devoting a considerable portion to the various Centrally-sponsored rural development and poverty alleviation programmes, complete with factual data, tabulations and the pattern of the interventions in each district over the past five years, the report identifies several key indicators of rural development like food grain production, value of agricultural product per agricultural worker, rural road connectivity, rural employment and amenities such as housing, electricity connection, availability of latrines, sources and location of drinking water, etc. It says, the incidence of poverty in Meghalaya can be gauged by the fact that the percentage of below poverty-line families during the Ninth Plan was estimated to be as high as 54, while there was a marginal drop of the figure during the Tenth Plan to 48.90.

Attributing the near failure of all rural development initiatives so far to the absence of “an effective, empowered, more enabled, accountable and participatory governance”, the report laments the fact that “it remains insular to the paradigm shift in development policies in the country since the last decade of the twentieth century brought about by the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution”. It may be mentioned here that these amendments relate to strengthening the Panchayati Raj system and local bodies in urban areas. But since the State of Meghalya still sticks to the Sixth Schedule of the Constituion by vesting all the powers of self-governance on the autonomous district councils, the panchayati raj system has never been considered as the right deliverer. The report seeks to make a strong case for supplanting the district councils with the panchayati raj system as elsewhere in the country, especially in tribal-majority Arunachal Pradesh.

It recommends that, “because the Sixth Schedule has hardly helped as an instrument of self-management and social and economic change”, Meghalaya must opt for the panchayati raj system envisaged under the 73rd amendment of the Constituion. “The 73rd Amendment promises a more democratic way of land and community asset management. It also provides for empowerment of socially vulnerable sections in general and women in particular. There is enough scope within the provisions of 73rd Amendment to accommodate the existing form of governance by the State in transforming the autonomous district councils and the role of the tribal councils,” it suggests.

It ends with the reminder that in the North-east, Arunachal Pradesh has gone ahead by accepting the 73rd Amendment and constituted the panchayats. It strongly calls upon the State of Meghalaya to immediately make “a close scrutiny of the Arunachal law on this subject.”

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Petrol bomb attack, arson mark KSU stir

SHILLONG, Oct 20: A petrol bomb attack at the vehicle of the Managing Director of MECOFED in Shillong this evening and the fire at two government offices in Umsning, Ri Bhoi district preceded the three days night road blockade called by the Khasi Students’ Union from Tuesday night.

In the wee hours of Tuesday, two government offices at Umsning were partially gutted. Even though police said that it was a case of short circuit, the question as to how two government offices in isolated locations meet the same fate still remains unanswered. Two of the rooms belonging to the executive engineer of the PWD and the doors and ceiling of the Block Developmental Office (BDO) were partially damaged by the fire.

Early on Tuesday evening, masked men hurled a petrol bomb at the vehicle of the Managing Director of MECOFED, but the bomb failed to ignite fire at the parking vehicle in Lumdeingjri area.

Cases of vehicles being burnt or attacked have risen to seven during the KSU agitating programme in the past one week, while three government offices have experienced cases of arson.

With the KSU volunteers displaying their tough posture during the period of the agitation, the police has rushed in reinforcements in all the sensitive areas of Shillong city. According to sources in the police, the new SP is assessing the ground situation before deploying extra forces in the areas known for their vulnerability.

Till filing of this report, no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the city.

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Border haats to be reopened soon

SHILLONG, Oct 20: India and Bangladesh have finally agreed to reopen the border haats along the international border which would soon become operational.

Informing this here today, Meghalaya Chief Secretary Ranjan Chatterjee told reporters that the two countries had formally agreed to reopen border haats along the Indo-Bangladesh border at their Foreign minister-level meeting held last month.

India used to have free border trade and weekly haats with the erstwhile East Pakistan but they were closed down years later after creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Chatterjee said that five border haats the State is sharing with Bangladesh would be reopened and among those are Borsora, Shella and Dawki, all in Khasi Hills and two in Garo Hills including Gasuapara.

The decision to reopen border haats comes with New Delhi also pressing for a transit route through Bangladesh to carry goods from one part of India to another. India has also agreed to invest in transport infrastructure in the neighbouring country. As negotiations are under way for cooperation in the transport sector, mainly railways, the two countries are scheduled to sign a deal in May 2010 on India’s access to the Ashuganj Port in Bangladesh that it wants to use to transport heavy equipment for a power plant in Tripura. Residents either side of the border had been calling for reopening the border haats, on the plea that this would improve their living condition and that this was vital for the socio-economic development of the area and its people. Villagers were in favour of reopening of border haats since agricultural products, most of which are perishable in natutre, and which therefore cannot be ferried to as far away as in Shillong and other towns, could be disposed off locally in the haats. Besides, according to the villagers, the border haats once symbolized the people’s life style and served as a meeting place for all not only to exchange merchandise, but also to exchange greetings and ideas, besides sharing problems of each other. Till 1971, the border residents from Bangladesh used to come to the hillside for exchange of goods. But in 1974, the border haats were closed down, while another haat (market) at Nongjri was closed over ten years back.

History has it that border haats in Meghalaya were functional from the Mughal period. Even during the eighteenth century (British Period) barter system in Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills was in practice. Oranges, chillies, turmeric, lime, honey, iron, bee’s wax, ivory, rubber, betel nuts, betel leaves, spices and potatoes from the hills were offered in exchange for rice, sugar, fish, salt, tobacco, oil, cotton clothes and spices from the plains on the other side of the border.

After Statehood, several memoranda were submitted to the Centre on the need for reopening of border haats but the matter was pending with the Centre for final clearance.

The Meghalaya Government during the tenure of the late Chief Minister BB Lyngdoh had lobbied with the Union Government to take up with Bangladesh the matter of opening of border trade. The erstwhile MPA and the present MUA government had also taken up the issue with the Centre on several occasions.

Years ago, the Government had stated that the volume of illegal trade between Meghalaya’s border villages and Bangladesh is around the same as that of formal trade. The informal trade resulting through smuggling is estimated to be worth Rs 200 crore annually while formal trade through the Meghalaya border with Bangladesh was around Rs 170 to Rs 200 crore a year. The total volume of illegal and legal trade was around Rs 400 crore, which was huge for a small state like Meghalaya.

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Black flag on Oct 23

SHILLONG, Oct 20: Protest against the pre-uranium development activities is gaining momentum in the State as a newly constituted Coordination Committee of Social Organizations (CCSO) today announced for a black flag day on October 23 in all the four districts of the State.

The CCSO is a conglomeration of social organizations like the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), West Khasi Hills Students’ Union (WKHSU), Jaintia Youth Federation (JYF), War Jaintia Students’ Union (WJSU) and the Ri-Bhoi Youth Federation (RBYF).

Stating that the protest is a ‘peaceful agitation’ against the pre-uranium project and uranium mining CCSO chairman Wilbert Rani told a news conference today that its volunteers will visit houses and public places in every corner of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills with flags of protests. He said, “This is our peaceful way of showing our dissatisfaction to the government’s decision.” However, Rani said, “If the government fails to listen to our plea of revoking the Cabinet decision we will intensify our agitations.”

Expressing concern over the absence of the political masters in the State amidst the burning issue, the CCSO observed that should the situation go out of control as in the case of MBoSE they should not resort to blaming the bureaucracy. Stating that the government is not concerned and has no responsibility if law and order breaks down, Rani said, “We ask Chief Minister DD Lapang to return to the State to solve the problems because arresting NGOs protesting against the government’s decision is not a solution.”

Pointing out that the pre-uranium mining development project of Rs 209 crore was a pre-cursor to uranium mining in the State, the CCSO said the government has not only taken advantage over the poor people but it has also sponsored organizations to further its cause to fight against the anti-uranium mining lobby. “By sponsoring such organizations, the government is creating a division amongst the people which would ultimately lead to bloodshed,” Rani observed.

READ MORE - Black flag on Oct 23

‘Whistle army’ for cleaner Meghalaya

Meghalaya chief secretary Ranjan Chatterjee hands over whistles to a student in Shillong on Tuesday. A Telegraph picture

Shillong, Oct. 21 : Schoolchildren in Meghalaya will act as whistle-blowers to help the people make the state cleaner and greener.

The education department has tied up with all the schools in the state for this unique project. Students will blow on whistles whenever they see anyone polluting the environment.

The state government today launched Sustainable Environment through Whistle Army (SEWA) involving students at an official function here.

Handing over whistles to 18 schools, chief secretary Ranjan Chatterjee said the duty of the whistle-blower would be to prevent people from littering streets or engaging in other means of polluting the environment.

He urged the students to make “good use of the whistles and not to blow them unnecessarily”.

As part of SEWA, the students will form environment clubs in their respective schools. They will be sent to certain localities once a week to ensure cleanliness.

Some schools have already formed environment clubs while others are in the process of forming them.

“The respective environment clubs, assisted by the teachers, will form the guidelines regarding the blowing of whistles,” additional secretary of the education department, F.R. Kharkongor, said.

Pollution of the environment can be in the form littering streets, dumping garbage on roads and rivers, felling trees, spitting and vehicular emission.

This initiative can attract tourists to the state, as many of them evince keen interest in visiting one of the cleanest villages in the state, Mawlynnong, in East Khasi Hills.

Satavisha Chakraborty, a student of St Mary’s School in Shillong, and Suniti Sangma, a teacher of Aerovills School, Tura, welcomed the initiative.

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Govt office set on fire in Shillong

Shillong, Oct. 20 : A masked gang set ablaze a 50-year-old Assam-type building that housed the office of a government department at Lachumiere here this morning.

The building houses the office of the commandant of the Civil Task Force, though the commandant sits in a nearby building.

The arson came a day ahead of the Khasi Students’ Union-sponsored second round of agitation, starting 8pm tomorrow, against uranium mining. During the first round of agitation last week, supporters had set ablaze six government vehicles.

The chowkidar of the office, L.B. Chettri, was snoozingoutside the office after a night’s vigil when three masked persons barged into the premises and asked him to open the main door. “They asked me to open the door but I refused,” a shaken Chettri said.

The goons then forced open a window of the three-room office, sprinkled petrol as far as they could, lit a matchstick and threw it inside. It was around 6.30am but still semi-dark on a chilly morning the Meghalaya capital.

Chettri could only watch in horror as the flames licked everything that crossed their path and grew into an inferno as they fed on papers in files and the abundant wood used to build such Assam-type houses.

The main damage was done to the big main room, where 10 employees sit. The two smaller rooms are mainly used to store unimportant files and discarded furniture. Many official files, furniture, typewriters, electric heaters and a television were charred in the fire.

The chowkidar tried to douse the fire with the help of neighbours but in vain. “Ultimately, firemen arrived to douse the fire which engulfed the inside portion of the building,” said Ajay Subedi, an LDA attached with the Civil Task Force.

There are around 111 daily wage workers registered with the Civil Task Force, which is under the labour department. The commandant co-ordinates the appointment of workers for various road constructions.

“Our task will now be difficult as the files containing the names of workers and the nature of their daily allowances were destroyed,” an official of the Civil Task Force said, adding that the damage to the office was “around 80 per cent”.

East Khasi Hills superintendent of police L.B. Rapthap said nobody had been arrested so far.

“We are yet to identify those involved in the torching of the office though the finger of suspicion is towards KSU volunteers,” he added.

The old building of Meghalaya Assembly was reduced to ashes in a towering inferno on January 9, 2001, but it was not a case of arson.

Most government offices here are housed in old Assam-type buildings built years ago.

The police said they would deploy more forces in and around the government buildings.

The home department had earlier given instructions to state government departments to keep vigil to prevent the destruction of government property during the KSU agitation. Despite this, there have been instances of torching of government buildings and vehicles.

With the KSU again resorting to a three-day night road blockade starting from tomorrow night till 5am the next day, police have decided to intensify vigil on the roads connecting the three states of Assam, Tripura and Mizoram.

“We will deploy more forces on the highway for smooth flow of traffic,” Rapthap said. The night road blockade called by the KSU will end on October 23.

READ MORE - Govt office set on fire in Shillong

UCIL faces roadblock in Meghalaya; NGO opposes activity

GUWAHATI: The row over the uranium mining issue is unceasing in Meghalaya. The non-governmental organizations (NGO) opposing the pre-project development activity proposed by Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) in the uranium rich area of West Khasi Hills are planning a fresh series of agitation.

However, another uranium frontier in the Northeast has emerged. Oil major ONGC has instituted a study in the oil field in Assam in which it has found radioactive elements. There are possibilities that it can be uranium. Khasi Student’s Union (KSU) will again initiate a three-night road blockade in East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts starting from October 20. Recently, the student body had clamped night blockade
to register its protest. During the blockade five vehicles were torched.

Within the state, there is a sharp differences between the two groups with one supporting it and another opposing it. The Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) has decided to go ahead with the pre-project development activities in 422 square hectares of land in West Khasi Hills.

The state government will lease out the land to UCIL for pre-project development work.UCIL had agreed to earmark Rs 209 crore to carry out pre-project development programmes. The decision of the cabinet has triggered fresh protest. Under the pre-project development activity, roads, hospitals and schools are proposed to be developed.
Sources in ONGC said that the company has instituted a study in the oil field in Assam in which it has found radioactive elements. There are possibilities that it can be uranium.

Sources in ONGC said, "We have instituted a study during the course of which we have come across radioactive bearing elements. These elements have been found in the logs (log data) of some oil fields in Upper Assam. The study is in initial stage. The element can be uranium."

READ MORE - UCIL faces roadblock in Meghalaya; NGO opposes activity

Uranium deal highlights No role for State Government?

SHILLONG, Oct 18: The UCIL-landowner deal on the pre-project development and uranium-mining seeks to take care of problems like development of West Khasi Hills district and unemployment by incorporating several promises in this regard. However, the State Government does not stand as a guarantor to the deal raising questions in several circles if the government has no role at all in this critical issue.

On the other hand, questions are being raised if the Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) Government headed by DD Lapang had surreptitiously withdrawn from the deal and left West Khasi Hills people to deal directly with a monolith of the Government of India undertaking like UCIL. There is absolutely no mention anywhere in the seven-page agreement between landowners and UCIL, of the State Government intervening in the event one or the other party breaching a part or whole of the agreement, except in matters of environmental clearance.

The highlights of the agreement entered by UCIL, a public sector enterprise based at Jadugoda mine in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, and the representatives of Lyngdoh Sangriang and Myrthong clans as landowners of Kylleng-Pyndengsohiong, Mawthabah (KPM) on March 12, 2007 are:

1. The clans/landowners agreed to the proposal of UCIL for the project for exploration, mining and processing plant, tailing disposal system, townships and other infrastructure facilities for production of magnesium-di-uranate (MDU) at Killing and Rangam blocks and Mawthabah in West Khasi Hills district.

2. Clans/landowners agreed to provide unhindered possession of land at Killing and Rangam blocks and Mawthabah village for a period of 30 years with renewal of the lease beyond the period.

3. UCIL will pay an annual lease of Rs 15,000 per hectare of land to the clans/landowners with provision of increase of 5 per cent annual lease rent every after five years.

4. In addition to the increase of 5 per cent, 15 per cent will be paid as royalty to the Meghalaya Government and clans/landowners only on commencement of production of uranium ore.

5. UCIL will make necessary arrangements for rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) of the land-displaced families arising out of the KPM project and will provide at least one job each of the lessors/awardees displaced due to the KPM project.

6. UCIL will provide maximum unskilled jobs to land owners or their nominees in KPM project based on merit and available vacancies and will further consider local people for employment for remaining vacancies on merit.

7. UCIL will implement R&R policy in letter and spirit in consultation with the representatives of clans/landowners and the State Government.

8. UCIL will provide 15 per cent seats for local people other than employees for admission in school to be established in KPM project.

9. UCIL will compensate the cost of existing trees of 0.30 meter girth or above as per rate assessed by the Forest Department of Meghalaya standing on land to be acquired on lease.

10. UCIL has agreed in principle not to go for displacement of existing residents of Mawthabah village.

11. Clans/landowners will not raise any hindrance during the subsistence and tenure of the lease to UCIL and allow it without any interruption to carry on the various pre-project activities.

12. UCIL will obtain environmental clearance and no-objection certificates etc, from the authorities concerned as required under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

13. The control over production and use of atomic energy is completely on the domain of Central Government as prescribed under Section 14 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 subject to Atomic Energy (Working of Mines, Minerals and Handling of Prescribed Substance) Rules, 1984. Therefore, UCIL will take licence for uranium mining as well as processing of uranium ore from the appropriate licensing authority for the uranium project.

14. The lease between UCIL and clans/landowners will be prepared at the expense of UCIL.

15. In the event of any difference arising out of the agreement, such differences will be discussed and sorted out and resolved amicably between parties of the agreement.

READ MORE - Uranium deal highlights No role for State Government?

Pro-uranium mining groups hold rally in Shillong

Shillong, Oct 16 (PTI) Amid protests by the Khasi Students Union against the government's proposed uranium mining project in Meghalaya, various organisations favouring the administration's move held a massive rally here today.

Heavy security arrangements were made in view of the rally organised by the newly formed Associations of Meghalaya for Development and Advancement (AMDA).

A conglomerate of NGOs from various districts, mostly from West Khasi Hills, the AMDA supports the government move to go ahead with the Rs 209-crore first-phase development by Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in mineral-rich West Khasi Hills district.

"We have learnt from health institutions that there is no adverse affects on the health due to uranium mining," AMDA chairman Wonder Marthong said.

READ MORE - Pro-uranium mining groups hold rally in Shillong

Meghalaya dam toll touches nine, six workers still missing

SHILLONG: The death toll in the flood fury at the under-construction Myntdu-Leshka hydroelectric project in Meghalaya rose to nine even as rescue operations are on to trace six missing workers.

"Two more bodies were recovered yesterday. Six workers are still untraced and search is on to find them," Jaintia Hills district SP MK Singh said on Wednesday.

One of the bodies, apparently washed away by the flooding waters of Myntdu river was recovered from Kharkhana village bordering Bangladesh.

Out of the nine bodies recovered, six workers are from Assam, two from Madhya Pradesh and one from Meghalaya.

Meanwhile, clearing of the debris from the power-house is still in progress.

Last Thursday, incessant rains triggered a sudden rise in water level leading to overflow from the dam tunnel as well as landslides in the vicinity of the under-construction project.

READ MORE - Meghalaya dam toll touches nine, six workers still missing

Meghalaya growth low, says report

Urban-centric pointers

Shillong, Oct. 12: The first state development report released by Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang today pointed out that the human resource development of Meghalaya was poor and urban-centric, leaving the rural areas in a state of total neglect. The report, which was completed after six years, suggested that human development in Meghalaya is urban-centric, registering less percentage of human development in the rural areas. Human development is a combination of people’s entitlements and attainments relating to education, health and livelihood. Experts who prepared the first state development report had analysed various reports related to the human development index (HDI) in the country released by the Centre over the years. After analysing the reports, the state experts said Meghalaya ranked 26th in the human development index out of the 35 states and Union Territories. Stating that Meghalaya figured “poorly” in the level of human development, the report said while the state was placed 24th in terms of HDI in 1991, it had fared better with a rank of 21 in 1981. “A closer look at some of the components of the HDI suggests that there has been stagnation or no development in Meghalaya in some areas,” the report said. The report highlighted that the infant mortality rate (IMR) of Meghalaya has remained more or less constant in recent years. In 2007, the IMR for the state was 52.28 percent per thousand live births with South Garo Hills recording the highest rate (102.01%). “The deterioration in the ranking of Meghalaya in HDI implies that the rate of development is slower than in most of the states and hence many states have improved their rankings while Meghalaya has lagged behind,” it added. The report, however, added that there has been an improvement in the spheres of income and education in the state from 1981 to 2005. The district with the highest HDI is East Khasi Hills followed by West Garo Hills. “The two major towns in the state, Shillong and Tura, are in these two districts and the relatively higher HDIs of these two districts seem to suggest that human development in Meghalaya gas been urban-centric,” the report said. The other five districts have HDIs that are lower than the state average. Among the northeastern states, Meghalaya fared better than Assam and Arunachal Pradesh only.

READ MORE - Meghalaya growth low, says report

Probe ordered into Meghalaya dam tragedy

Shillong, Oct 12 (PTI) A departmental enquiry has been ordered into the tragedy triggered by flood at the under-construction Myntdu-Leshka hydro-electric project in Meghalaya that has left at least seven workers dead and nine others missing.

"The enquiry team headed by Meghalaya State Electricity Board (MeSEB) member (hydro) M Bora will look into all aspects of the incident," additional chief secretary and MeSEB chairman WMS Pariat told PTI today.

He said the panel would investigate the circumstances that led to the tragedy and its possible implications.

So far, seven bodies were recovered from the dam site that was hit by flood on Thursday evening while nine other workers are still untraced.

Incessant rains had caused flooding of the site and triggered landslides near the ambitious Rs 900-crore 84 MW project in Jaintia Hills district.

READ MORE - Probe ordered into Meghalaya dam tragedy

Leshka workers still untraced

Shillong, Oct. 11: Meghalaya police suspect that the bodies of workers still missing after floods submerged parts of the Myntdu-Leshka power project, may have been either washed away to Bangladesh or buried in the mud along the border.

The power plant in the Jaintia Hills is adjacent to the Indo-Bangladesh border.

The tunnels and powerhouse of the project were flooded on Thursday after the water level of the Myntdu river rose following heavy rain.

Jaintia Hills superintendent of police M.K. Singh said today that the missing bodies could have been washed away to Bangladesh through rivers that flow along the Meghalaya border.

“We are keeping a round-the-clock vigil along the border and the rescue team is trying to trace the bodies,” Singh said.

The police also suspect that the missing bodies may be buried under mud or debris after the gushing waters flooded the tunnel and washed away those engaged in construction work there.

So far, the police have fished out five bodies. Ten persons are yet to be traced.

The public relations officer of the BSF, Ravi Gandhi, said the BSF was ready to provide any assistance to the Meghalaya police if the state government asked for help.

“We can contact our counterparts in Bangladesh to trace the missing bodies, if any, along the border, if the state asks for our help,” Gandhi said.

He added that the disaster management battalion of the BSF could also assist the Meghalaya police if the need arises.

The state power department was awaiting a detailed report on the incident. A team of Meghalaya State Electricity Board officials visited the site after the incident.

There was some damage to the electrical equipment of the power plant and we are yet to assess the extent of damage to other accessories, a board official said.

Though the stipulated time for the commissioning of the first and second units (84MW), of the 126MW of the project was scheduled for December this year, MeSEB sources said there would be further delay because of the mishap.

READ MORE - Leshka workers still untraced

PM to visit Meghalaya next month

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Meghalaya next month to inaugurate the new building of the Shillong High Court.

This was conveyed by Singh when Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang met him here yesterday.

"The Prime Minister has kindly agreed to come to Shillong early next month to inaugurate the High Court building," Lapang told PTI.

The Chief Minister, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and Revenue Minister Prestone Tynsong, met the Prime Minister at his residence.

The Prime Minister told the delegation that he would discuss the state government's earlier demand for financial package with Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Meghalaya had demanded Rs 562 crore as additional Central assistance primarily to implement the pay hike for state government employees as recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission.

READ MORE - PM to visit Meghalaya next month

12,000 cases pending in Meghalaya lower courts

Shillong, Oct 10 (PTI) About 12,000 cases, both civil and criminal, are pending in the subordinate courts of Meghalaya.

According to Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) Member Secretary W Diengdoh, about 1,600 cases are pending in the Gauhati High Court Shillong Bench alone.

The MSLSA has decided to initiate efforts to dispose of pending cases by introducing free legal aid and mediation and conciliation schemes in consonance with the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1978.

The Act ensures that equal justice is made available to the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of the society, Diengdoh told reporters here yesterday.

The MSLSA, in order to reduce the backlog of cases, has set up a Forum of Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC).

The committee included a panel of 12 persons comprising advocates and retired judicial officers of the state.

READ MORE - 12,000 cases pending in Meghalaya lower courts

Garo militant outfit for special autonomous council

Shillong, Oct 10 (PTI) A tribal rebel group in Meghalaya has submitted a fresh memorandum to the Centre seeking a special autonomous council with more autonomy powers and direct funding from the Centre.

The Achik National Volunteers Council (ANVC), presently under a ceasefire with New Delhi for the last five years, has sought the immediate creation of a self governing body for the Garos in the three districts of Garo Hills to be called the Garoland Autonomous Council with adequate powers and direct funding, the group said in a statement to the media last evening.

The Centre had last month rejected a demand the group's demand for a separate Garoland state. The Joint Secretary (Home) in-charge of North East, Naveen Verma had made it clear that if ANVC wanted a rehabilitation package, it has to leave aside its demand for Garoland.

READ MORE - Garo militant outfit for special autonomous council

Four dead, 11 missing as rain water floods dam site

Shillong, Oct 9 (PTI) At least four persons were killed and 11 went missing as rain waters flooded the construction site of Myntdu-Leshka Hydel project in Meghalaya's Jaintia Hills district, officials said today.

"The labourers were trapped in a power house when it was flooded by water from the tunnel. Three bodies were recovered from the power house and the driver of a car which was swamped by landslide was also found dead," project manager E Lyngdoh said.

Six persons and five others working in the tunnel were untraced, he said.

SP M K Singh said a team which comprised police personnel were carrying out rescue operations.

Incessant rains for the last two days led to overflow of water in the dam and triggered landslides at the site of Rs 900 crore 84 MW power project.

Lyngdoh said there was a sudden flash of water from 4.

READ MORE - Four dead, 11 missing as rain water floods dam site

Good Samaritan service by Meghalaya legal activists

SHILLONG | October 10 : The Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) has decided to take the effort of disposing off pending cases right from the high court level to the lower courts by introducing free legal aid, mediation and conciliation schemes in consonance with the provision provided by the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1978. It is to ensure that equal justice is made available to the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of the society.
Notwithstanding that there are 12, 000 backlog cases lying pending with the district and subordinate courts in the state in which the Legal Aid will act as a  mechanism to speed up disposal of the pending cases comparing backlog cases in the whole country is 1600.
Addressing a conference in Shillong on Friday, W Diengdoh, Member Secretary of the MSLSA said that their target is to disperse all the pending cases by way of making people aware of the existence of the schemes making them realize their rights and to give them the adequate justice they deserve.
He also said that the Legal Services Authorities after examining criteria of an applicant and the existence of a prima facie case in his favour provides him counsel at state expense, pay required court fee in the matter and bear all incidental expenses in connection with the case.
The Authority in order to reduce the backlog of cases has also set up a Forum of Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC) started on January 30, 2009.
The committee will include a panel of twelve persons including advocates and retired judicial officers of the state in which they are entrusted to concise cases related to disputes between parties litigating through settlement.
Any party having a legal dispute can visit the mediation clinic at the office of the MSLSA behind Additional Secretariat in Shillong where the mediators will look and examine into their matters and suitable suggestions and actions would be taken, informed Diengdoh.
Diengdoh also said that the State Legal Services besides, introducing the schemes also conducts legal literacy awareness programmes and Lok Adalat or People’s court in all parts of the states as part of its continuing programme of fulfilling its motto that access to ‘justice for all’.
Meanwhile,  260 cases were being settled through 10 Lok Adalats conducted by the MSLSA, which was held in almost all the districts of the state. A total number of 197 beneficiaries were benefited from the legal aid scheme during the year 2007 till date.

READ MORE - Good Samaritan service by Meghalaya legal activists

Projects to benefit mining sites alone

Shillong, Oct. 8: The department of atomic energy today ruled out the possibility of developing the whole of West Khasi Hills under the pre-development projects to be initiated by the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.

Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang said he would convince UCIL to extend the development work to the entire district. He is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi to discuss the matter.

The KSU and other anti-mining groups had told the government that if UCIL wantsed to engage in pre-development activities, it should not be limited to the sites.

The head of the public awareness division of the department of atomic energy, S.K. Malhotra, spoke to mediapersons after the birth centenary celebrations of nuclear scientist Homi Jahangir Bhabha on the premises of the atomic mineral directorate office at Nongmynsong here.

He said the Rs 209-crore pre-development projects by UCIL would be limited only to the uranium mining sites and its surrounding areas. “The UCIL is not a road development agency and the West Khasi Hills district where the mining sites are located cannot be developed,” hesaid.

Addressing the centenary celebration function, Malhotra said some of the country’s nuclear reactors were running very low on their installed capacity and it has become all the more necessary to start mining in Meghalaya. “The radiation released from the nuclear industry is only 0.15 per cent compared to the radiation from the natural background,” Malhotra said.

He said there were 10,000 tonnes of uranium oxide in Mawthabah and if this was mined, the uranium shortage could be solved.

The official said the international nuclear deals, which India had entered into with various countries including the US, did not indicate that India has to forego the indigenous nuclear sources in the country. “The international nuclear deal is over and above the existing indigenous nuclear programmes and we will pursue tapping of the uranium mining sites in many parts of the country,” he said.

Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary who was the chief guest at the function, said uranium mining could help the state to overcome the acute shortage of power.

READ MORE - Projects to benefit mining sites alone

Meghalaya governor deplores anti-uranium groups

Shillong, Oct 8 (PTI) Deploring anti-uranium mining groups in the state, Meghalaya Governor R S Mooshahary today said there were sections opposing the mining project due to misunderstanding and spreading misinformation on the issue.

"There are some people who are opposing the uranium mining project due to misunderstanding. Another section is opposing with an intention of spreading misinformation," he said.

Allaying fears of health and environmental hazards, he said, "human health and security is the top priority of the decision makers. How can the government give its nod to a project which is detrimental to the state?"

"We always suspect that every act of the government is anti-people. Meghalaya is not a colony of New Delhi, but a constituent of a federal state.

READ MORE - Meghalaya governor deplores anti-uranium groups

Protests over abduction bid of newspaper employee

Shillong , Oct 6 : The incident of attempted kidnap of an employee of a local daily today triggered protests by journalists in Meghalaya who decided to take up the matter with the Chief Minister D D Lapang.

According to the complaint filed with the police, the DPT operator of&aposU Mawphor&aposvernacular newspaper was on way home on Saturday night, when he was forced to get into a white ambulance by three unidentified persons and taken to a desolate place.

As the man was taken out of the vehicle and threatened to be shot dead, he landed a few blows on the abductors, freed himself and ran to the nearby bushes, police said. The name of the employee was not made known by the police.

READ MORE - Protests over abduction bid of newspaper employee

Lapang softens stand on mining

- CM to meet Singh on uranium issue

D.D. Lapang and (right) Bindo Lanong at the news conference in Shillong on Saturday. A Telegraph picture Shillong, Oct 5 : Under mounting pressure from the anti-mining groups, the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government today tried to buy time by stressing that the pre-development projects to be initiated by the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd were its priority and the issue of actual uranium mining would be taken up later. In an apparent softening of its earlier stand that triggered widespread protests in Meghalaya and even in Delhi yesterday, chief minister D.D. Lapang told reporters that for the time being the government would think only about the pre-development projects. “We will take up the issue of actual uranium mining at a later stage. We will now concentrate on the pre-development projects to be initiated by the UCIL,” he said. Lapang said he would leave for Delhi on Tuesday to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and apprise him of the views of his ministerial colleagues and pressure groups on the apprehensions about uranium mining in the state. “We will do the best possible and suggestions and apprehensions regarding the project will be made known to the Prime Minister,” he said. “We will discuss the need to extend the development projects in the entire West Khasi Hills district with the UCIL officials next week,” Lapang said. According to Lapang, the people of the state and the NGOs will not be ready to accept development only in the small uranium mining sites. “There should be better road connectivity and other infrastructure development in the entire West Khasi Hills and not in the uranium mining sites alone. This will be communicated to the UCIL officials,” Lapang said. The KSU, in a recent meeting with deputy chief minister Bindo Lanong, who holds the mining portfolio, said if the UCIL wanted to take up development projects without mining, work should not be restricted to the uranium mining sites alone. Besides pressure from the Khasi Students’ Union that staged a protest rally in Delhi yesterday along with other NGOs, the government’s change of stand is mainly attributed to the Khasi Jaintia Presbyterian Assembly. The church body has asked the government not to go ahead with uranium mining. Its executive committee meeting recently expressed concern over health hazards and dislocation of residents from uranium mining sites if mining was carried out. The church said the uranium mining project could inject a feeling of insecurity and alienation among the people.

READ MORE - Lapang softens stand on mining

NGO creates awareness on unscientific coal-mining

Tura (Meghalaya) | October 5 : Awareness campaigns have become frequent in the Garo Hills district of Meghalaya with regard to the coal mining issue. Coal mining in Meghalaya is done through the rat-hole method, a technique considered as improper and environmentally dangerous.

An NGO, the Integrated People for Tourism and Conservation (IPTAC), an eco tourism and conservation group is spearheading such campaigns. The IPTAC in its bid to efficiently and effectively spread awareness to the people of Garo Hills regarding the ill effects of unscientific coal mining yesterday organised a awareness drive at Gambaregre around 30 kilometers from Tura.

Incidentally this is their fourth such undertaking and have previously organised such programmes at villages in West Garo Hills, especially in the coal belt areas of Balupara, Sadolpara etc. The aim and objective of their programmes, it is informed is to make aware the people of Garo Hills the immediate danger of unscientific coal mining to the environment and gradually but eventually the people confined within these areas.

Their basic method of generating awareness is by showing relevant films and trying to interpret it to the villagers.

Yesterday they showed a documentary film on the Jharia incident in Jharkhand where the whole township was and is still being consumed by underground coal fire which has been raging for around hundred plus years.

At the end of the film another film showcasing diversity of ecology in cave systems and other inaccessible locations was shown much to the pleasure and amazement of the local villagers.

It may be mentioned that IPTAC and other Eco-Conservation groups have launched an extensive drive to create awareness regarding unscientific coal mining in Garo Hills keeping in mind the spurt of illegal coal mining activities in Garo Hills.

READ MORE - NGO creates awareness on unscientific coal-mining

Trouble brews in NCP

Shillong, Oct 5 : Trouble is brewing in the Meghalaya unit of the Nationalist Congress Party with a section of legislators expressing displeasure at party leader P.A. Sangma’s style of functioning.

Senior NCP leader Adolf Hitler Marak resigned from the post of chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Assembly recently after Sangma’s son, James, expressed desire to hold the post.

Marak told reporters today that he had resigned from the post after James told him that his father wanted him to hold the post.

The Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government had initially appointed senior Congress leader Rowell Lyngdoh to the post and later NCP MLA Masonsing Sangma.

Marak made it clear that he was not happy with the manner in which the NCP was functioning in the state under Sangma’s leadership.

He said after the NCP-UDP-led government was ousted from power by the Congress-led MUA government in May, Sangma succeeded in appointing his other son, Conrad, as the leader of the Opposition.

Later, his daughter Agatha was appointed as the Union minister of state for rural development, he added.

“I feel that Sangma is engaging in family politics and that he is acting in an autocratic manner. This is also the view of a majority of NCP legislators,” Marak said.

Marak met chief minister D.D. Lapang today to discuss the political situation. He is understood to have expressed his desire to come out of the NCP and support the MUA. Marak said the meeting was a courtesy call.

Neither James nor Conrad was available for comment.

READ MORE - Trouble brews in NCP

UCIL team to visit Meghalaya this month

Shillong, Oct 5 A Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) team would visit Meghalaya this month for pre-project development work in West Khasi Hills district, Chief Minister D D Lapang said today.

Stating that the first-phase pre-project development programmes would facilitate uranium mining in the state, he dismissed apprehensions that it would lead to health hazards as voiced by organisations, including the influential Khasi Students Union (KSU).

The UCIL has agreed to earmark Rs 209 crore for the programmes, including roads, healthcare, power, drinking water and educational institutions.

The Lapang cabinet had last month decided to lease 422 sq hectare having uranium deposits in West Khasi Hills for 30 years to UCIL for the pre-project development work.

According to UCIL estimates, there could be 3,75,000 tonnes of uranium deposits in Meghalaya.

READ MORE - UCIL team to visit Meghalaya this month

Uranium reserves in Meghalaya to benefit country: Lapang

Terming the uranium reserves in the state as a national property, Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang on Saturday said the uranium ore reserves in the state when mined would help meet the country's growing needs for energy.

"It is the duty of the state to subscribe to the needs of the country. Mining of the uranium ores in the state would support the need of the country," Lapang told reporters here, amid stiff opposition from various organisations like the influential Khasi Students Union (KSU) who oppose the proposed mining project.

Lapang said a team from the UCIL would visit the state this month to carry forward the pre-project developments works in and around the uranium areas of West Khasi Hills district.

The Lapang cabinet had last month decided to lease 422 sq hectares of land having uranium deposits in West Khasi Hills for 30 years to UCIL for "pre-project" developmental works.

The UCIL had agreed to earmark Rs 209 crore to carry out pre-project development programmes, including health care facilities, power, drinking water, educational institutions and roads.

READ MORE - Uranium reserves in Meghalaya to benefit country: Lapang

Firing victims await justice

A man lights a candle in memory of the victims at Tura on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture

Shillong, Oct. 1: Four years after the infamous police firing in Tura and Williamnagar, the residents are still crying out for justice.

The incidents, which left nine persons, including students, dead, justice has not been meted out to the family members of the victims.

Nine persons were killed in simultaneous police firing at Tura in West Garo Hills and Williamnagar in East Garo Hills on September 30, 2005.

The firing took place during an agitation supported by several Garo hills-based NGOs against the state government’s move to shift the headquarters of the Meghalaya Board of Secondary Education from Tura to Shillong.

Under pressure from several quarters, the Lapang-led Congress government had then ordered two separate judicial inquiries for Tura and Williamnagar. The report of the Tura inquiry commission fixed the responsibility on a few state government officials, including the police, while the other report held NGOs in Garo Hills responsible for the Williamnagar firing by instigating the public.

No action was taken against those indicted by the inquiry commissions. Moreover, the NGOs rejected the inquiry report into the Williamnagar firing.

Dissatisfied with the findings of the judicial inquiry commissions, the NCP-UDP led Meghalaya Progressive Alliance government handed over the case to the CBI last September. In December, the CBI wrote to the state government, expressing its inability to take up the case.

The principal secretary (home), Barkose Warjri, told The Telegraph today that departmental proceedings were on against both the civil and police officials who were involved in the firing incidents.

“After the government received the reports of the judicial inquiry commissions, the departmental inquiry is still on against those involved in the Garo hills firing, which claimed many lives,” he said.

Lapang had tabled the reports of the two judicial probe panels in the state Assembly on April 19, 2007.

However, the September 30 Victims Solidarity Forum commented on the undue delay in taking action against the officials found guilty even after the submission of the inquiry reports two years ago.

The two judicial inquiries into the September 30 firing incidents cost the state nearly Rs 2 crore (Rs 1,72,88,944).

The forum organised a memorial service at Tura and Williamnagar last evening.

Thousand of people took part in the memorial service, which was held at Chandmari field in Tura and Rongrengiri playground in Williamnagar.

The people who participated in the memorial service also observed a two-minute silence in memory of the victims who died four years ago.

Earlier in the day, shops and other business establishments in Tura and Williamnagar downed shutters for an hour as a mark of respect for the departed souls.

READ MORE - Firing victims await justice