The Ri-Bhoi unit of the Khasi Students Union (KSU) on Saturday backed the opposition of the border residents in Ri-Bhoi against the deal signed by the governments of Meghalaya and Assam to resolve the border dispute between the two states.
Although hailed by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, opposition to the border agreement is increasing daily as residents and civil society groups move to oppose handover of land to Assam that they believe rightly belongs to Meghalaya.
The agreement was signed in front of Shah by Sangma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma in New Delhi on Tuesday. A detailed report by the Survey of India and ratification of the border in Parliament still needs to be completed before the deal becomes a reality.
Speaking to the press, Ri-Bhoi KSU leader Ferdynald Kharkamni said that the union is against the transfer of land to Assam in place such as Maikhuli, Barapathar, Mawiong and Iongkhuli.
“The union is very happy that the state government has taken bold decision to resolve the border tension, which has been present for decades, but the move to surrender many parts of legally owned land to Assam without considering the emotion and the will of the local residents who were born and brought up on the soil of Meghalaya is an injustice,” Kharkamni said.
He also said that the regional committee constituted by the Meghalaya government to prepare the state’s case in the border negotiations with Assam did not accept documentation and facts presented to it by traditional leaders at the Hima, Raid and Dorbar levels.
