The Border Magistrate of Ri-Bhoi district, accompanied by police, dismantled a toll gate that was set up by unknown persons from Assam along the disputed border at Umsohpah, Madan Umwang.
The area is populated by broom farmers and the toll gate was meant to extract ‘taxes’ from farmers, it is believed.
Acting on a tip-off, the magistrate, Raja Brahma, inspected the illegal toll gate, which was unmanned.
Brahma informed this reporter that such toll gates were erected every year around the time that broom is harvested and transported to market in order to collect ‘taxes’ from the Meghalaya farmers.
Any toll gate in the disputed border area, unless permitted by both Meghalaya and Assam, will be removed by the authorities, he warned.
