‘Confrontation’ will not resolve border issue: CM

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 14: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today said issues related to the long pending boundary dispute with Assam can only be resolved through discussion and dialogue but not through confrontation.

His statement came after the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) Laban Circle had threatened to close down the Karbi Hemtun (Guest House) if the Karbi people and Assam government continue to illegally encroach and harass Khasi people in West Jaintia Hills District.

The Karbi Hemtun was inaugurated jointly by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Meghalaya Chief Minister on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of a function, Sangma said that confrontation is not the solution.

“We are in India and obviously we have to work and discuss matters and live in peace and harmony. There are challenges, there are complications which we have to work out but it cannot be worked out by confrontation. Solutions can only come with discussion and dialogue, with understanding and trust and hence we need to ensure that we build that trust with our counterparts, be firmed with our negotiations and our terms, find ways in which we can accommodate each other and obviously in important occasions like these, these are trust-building measures,” he said.

He added, “So tomorrow you want to put up a Meghalaya House in Assam or Guwahati and if somebody says well you cannot do it, I don’t think that is a trust-building mechanism.”

“Yes, I am not saying that there are no concerns, there are concerns but to resolve those concerns, confrontation is not the solution. We need to work together to build trust and in an amicable manner move forward and that is what the message was yesterday (during the inauguration of the Karbi House),” the CM said.

Meanwhile, Sangma informed that the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya will finalise a firm program related to the second phase of border talks, in the next couple of days.

Govt wants to turn Khyndailad into a pedestrian zone

Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh today said that the state government is committed to declaring Khyndailad a pedestrian zone.

“Our commitment will be to have at least one pedestrian zone immediately and that is Khyndailad. I also had a meeting with the Chief Minister and he is fully in line with the need to declare Khyndailad as a pedestrian zone,” Lyngdoh told reporters.

He said some access to local residents which will be on the basis of car passes will be issued but the entire area will be pedestrianized.

He said that the people who suffered most in Shillong are pedestrians as you have hawkers, you have motorists using every way and there is limited scope for people to walk around.

The minister further informed that they have already started declaration of parts of Shillong as no-honking zones.

“We are in the process. The district administration and the police are in constant touch and from the tourism department, we already started by declaring Orchid, Umiam as a no-honking zone and similarly, other units of the tourism department will also be declared as no honking zones because the USP of Meghalaya is the serenity, the quiet which is disturbed by loud honking and loud music which sometimes carries beyond permissible hours,” he added.