Meghalaya Tourism Min says “Rule of law must prevail” over new norms for hit-and-run case

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Jan 5: Tourism Minister and MDA spokesperson Paul Lyngdoh today said that the rule of law must prevail.

He was responding to a question on the 48-hour protest called by the tourist taxi associations against the yet-to-be-implemented Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) which seeks to increase the punishment in hit-and-run cases.

“This is a matter of concern not just for Meghalaya but the entire nation and of course we have seen a rise in cases of harsh driving and a lot of cases where drivers have taken undue advantage of the laws of the land. So the rule of law must prevail,” Lyngdoh told reporters.

The minister said, “As we speak, this is a protest that is being organised across the country so in fact movement of tourists is impeded across India and it is not something that Meghalaya on its own specially being a landlocked state not take measures of our own it has to be in tandem with what the rest of the country is doing.”

Today, tourist taxis in Meghalaya stayed off the roads in support of the country-wide protest against the BNS.

Meanwhile, the tourist taxi associations have decided to end the 48-hour protest tomorrow.

Police presence is sometimes counterproductive, says Cabinet Min Paul Lyngdoh

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Aug 28: Chairman of the Regional Committee for West Khasi Hills Paul Lyngdoh has stated that police presence can sometimes be counterproductive as it brings fear of psychosis among the people.

Commenting today on the recent incident at Lapangap village in West Jaintia Hills district, where the State police were attacked with catapults, the cabinet minister said based on whatever inputs he received, it was rather an isolated incident. “The police had to face that situation because they didn’t have the correct inputs about what was actually happening. But I can say it is certainly an isolated case. But overall if you look at the past records, the number of border skirmishes has gone down and which is why when one incident happen they get all the media attention,” he said.

Referring to the Langpih sector, Lyngdoh said, “If you look at West Khasi Hills side, it is very calm because we have given a clear message to the people that we are still discussing the matter and we don’t want any tension.”

When asked, the cabinet minister however said, “Police presence can bring a sense of security but it can also be counterproductive as police presence also brings fear psychosis among the people. So it depends on the situation.”

Informing that the government has increased sanction of police personnel to 3,500 and new border outposts across the state, Lyngdoh said, “However, this is a matter we have to resolve politically.”

He further informed that the regional committees of the two states – Assam and Meghalaya will be in a position to submit their final reports to the respective chief ministers by the end of November.

“Therefore, after four months from now, a final resolution can be taken up,” he added.

Meghalaya, Assam delegation to visit Langpih

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Aug 28: The regional committees of Meghalaya and Assam today decided to conduct a joint visit to villages under the Langpih sector in September after the Assembly sessions in the two states are over.

The decision was taken at the second round of meeting of the regional committee for West Khasi Hills led by cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh and regional committee of Kamrup district led by Assam cabinet minister Chandra Mohan Patowary held at Pinewood hotel, here.

Addressing the media, Lyngdoh said the meeting had narrowed down the areas of conflict or areas where both States have made claims and counterclaims.

“The members of the district council (MDCs) and deputy commissioners of both the States have been tasked with the responsibility of preparing a list and coming up with specific names (of villages, which are problem-free) in the next meeting, when we undertake the joint inspection,” he said.

The Chairman of the regional committee for West Khasi Hills, said after this, the two regional committees will meet to conduct a joint onsite visit to villages under Langpih sector in the month of September, after the end of the Assembly sessions in the two States.

“We will try to cater to four or five villages and choose a central point as the meeting point so that we can go for site visits in the month of September,” he said.

Lyngdoh said, “We cannot be specific because these matters are hyper sensitive and we don’t want needless controversies and we don’t want any groups with vested interests to then take advantage of the discussion because the discussions are ongoing.”

Terming the joint meeting very cordial and fruitful, the Chairman of the regional committee for the Kamrup district sector Chandra Mohan Patowary informed that both States have exchanged documents as far as their claims over villages in the Langpih sector.

“We had a very cordial discussion today and we have narrowed down the gap. Previously it was a huge gap, now it is narrowed down and I hope after the Assembly sessions of Meghalaya and Assam because in September, Assembly sessions of Meghalaya and Assam will start. So after the Assembly session, we will visit the areas and we will fix the date and after visiting the areas I hope we will conclude the discussion and we will arrive at a final conclusion of the meeting,” he said.

Expressing confidence to resolve the dispute within a very short time, Patowari, however, said, “I will not be in a position to speak because unless we visit the area unless we know the mindset of the people of that area, where they want to stay – that way let us visit the area and after visiting the area, we will be able to say so and so number of villages wants to stay in Meghalaya and so and so number of villages wants to stay in Assam. So right now at this moment, it will not be fair if we mention the number of the villages.”

Whether Langpih would be difficult to resolve, the Assam minister said, “It will be resolved, don’t worry. There is no issue which cannot be solved through discussion. After discussion, every problem is solved. So I don’t think it will be a problem for us to solve. We have started the discussion and we hope we will resolve it.”

He also urged the cooperation of everybody to ensure that the regional committees come up with a solution that is acceptable to both Meghalaya and Assam.

Armed insurgency, drug trafficking a volatile mix, says Paul Lyngdoh

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Aug 27: Tourism minister and United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Paul Lyngdoh has said that armed insurgency and drug trafficking is a dangerous mix and have proved to be damaging to society. 

Referring to the recent crackdown on the National Liberation Council of Nongkyndong (NLCN), a newly floated Khasi militant outfit in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region, Lyngdoh told reporters that the phenomenon of armed insurgency or militancy has died down in the region itself and any attempt to revive insurgency in any form in the state would be a very misguided attempt. 

“(It is also) an attempt at sabotaging the interest of the very people that these groups try to claim to represent and stand for,” he said. 

Appealing to youngsters not to be misguided and not to fall prey to the malicious propaganda of such forces, Lyngdoh said, “We also perhaps realised that armed groups and the drugs scene go hand in hand. So it is a very lethal and very dangerous mix becuase once you have armed groups and there is spurt in narcotics then the two can prove to be absolutely damaging to not only this present generation but to the future generations.”

Stating that unemployment cannot be an excuse for anybody to take to arms or drugs or such illegal activities, the minister said, “In fact, the more violence you have, the more will be the level and the index of poverty. An unemployment is also caused because of when you  have spurt in violence which such groups can trigger. This is a defeatist mentality.”

“Today the government has open up tourism in a huge way, we have seen the prime tourism vehicle scheme, we have seen 1000 homestay projects – these are all for whose benefits? I urge upon the youths to take advantage of these schemes and not to be misled into wrong ideology,” he added further. 

Citing neighbouring Assam as an example, the UDP leader said that Assam for several decades experienced groups like the ULFA and NDFB but subsequently, they all failed in not only their purpose but also it was proved to be counterproductive.

“Today, Assam is on a growth trajectory like never has been seen in the past. All this was possible because insurgency was contained, controlled and subsequently, it died down,” he said.