Shillong, Sep 16: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has raised concerns over the proposed facilitation centre at Umling in Ri-Bhoi, questioning whether the area earmarked for the facility will be sufficient and calling for the involvement of more government departments.
Former KSU general secretary Donald Thabah said the union was invited for a discussion on the centre on Wednesday but was dissatisfied with the meeting as only Tourism Department officials were present.
Speaking after the meeting, Thabah said the area earmarked for the centre had been increased from 1,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet following objections raised by the union, which had felt that too much space at the facility had been allocated for a food court and not enough for the stated purpose of the centre, which is to serve as an entry-exit checkpoint.
“However, we cannot give them assurance that we are satisfied with what the Tourism Department is planning because our leaders are in jail, so we have to discuss with them first whether 4,000 will be enough or do we require more,” Thabah said. Several members of the KSU leadership have been arrested over the violence at a KSU rally last month.
Thabah said the proposed facility should cater not only to tourists but also to labourers, students, government officials and people entering Meghalaya for business purposes.
He said the current plan includes two rooms for the Tourism Department, one for the Infiltration Department and one for the Home Department. He called for dedicated counters or facilities for departments dealing with labour, education, health and other services, stating that a tourism-only counter could lead to long queues.
Thabah said Tourism Department officials informed the union that they could not speak on behalf of other departments during the meeting.
He said the KSU was seeking a broader discussion on the implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), particularly the setting up of facilitation centres, of which Umling is only one.
“We feel that the government should initiate a better method, a better way on how to engage us to talk regarding the facilitation centres,” Thabah said.
On the proposed facilitation centre at Ratacherra, Thabah said officials informed the union that land acquisition was in progress and had reached around 50 percent
However, he said the Tourism Department had not provided details on the total area earmarked for the centre.
“We don’t know whether that will be converted into an entry point and exit point facilitation centre or not,” he said.
The KSU felt that the government should bring together officials from all relevant departments for discussions on the facilitation centres instead of holding separate meetings with individual departments.
The union will now consult its leaders in jail before deciding its next course of action on the proposed centre at Umling.
