58 GTC gate in Mawshbuit illegal, says Bindo

Shillong, Apr 21: Senior United Democratic Party (UDP) figure Bindo Lanong stated today that the gate that 58 Gorkha Training Centre (GTC) has erected on a public road in Mawshbuit, the scene of a clash between the public and army last week, is completely illegal.
This “illegal occupation” of the public road leading to Mawshbuit was erected in 1984 and has been the source of friction on numerous occasions, with the army “harassing the public, particularly the public carriers and people of Mawshbuit village who have to shuttle to and fro across the gate and face immense military protocols with the guards manning the said gate,” Lanong said in a press release.
A scuffle broke out on the evening of April 12 between residents of Mawshbuit and personnel of 58 GTC over the closure of the gate. Remote Mawshbuit is accessible only through this one gate. Its closure led to a scuffle between members of the public and the forces.
Other army establishments have not had the same sort of problem, Lanong added. Although they have had a longer presence, the Assam Regiment Centre and Assam Rifles have set up their gates only at the respective entry points to their facilities and not on public roads, he explained. “The same goes for the Army and the Air Force at the 101 Upper Shillong area, with no army-civilian tussle ever heard of despite the heavy traffic jams along the road,” he said.
Lanong described the actions of 58 GTC as illegal and the direct cause of the recent law and order problem, “which had disgraced the image of the GTC”.
He requested that the gate be set up on the property of the GTC instead of on the public thoroughfare.