Shillong, Nov 6: The standoff between the state government and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) formed to oppose the Shillong Peak Ropeway project is showing no signs of ending, with both sides sticking to their positions.
After yesterday’s assertion by the Meghalaya government that it will press on with the project, today the JAC held firm in their opposition to it, calling for it to be moved somewhere away from Shillong Peak.
The JAC began an indefinite sit-in at the U Kiang Nangbah statue near Shillong Civil Hospital today.
The sit-in received permission from the East Khasi Hills authorities but only until 4pm. The JAC described it as not the beginning of the movement but as a reminder that the committee had remained active since the issue first came up.
The JAC members also questioned the silence of local legislator and cabinet minister Sanbor Shullai on the issue. JAC president Deborah Marbaniang said the MLA had not come even once to meet the protesting mothers despite being the elected representative of the constituency and she urged him not to abandon the people who had supported him from his days as MDC to MLA and minister.
The women said they will sacrifice their lives but will not allow the project to go ahead and that the government will have to cancel the project or move it to another place. They are implacably opposed to the ropeway at the current site as they believe it will affect water sources that serve not just Greater Laban but much of Shillong.
The JAC also urged the seven Rangbah Shnongs under Riat Laban Dorbar Pyllun to revoke and withdraw the lease agreement signed with the government.
Meanwhile, JAC member Venetia Mawlong hit back at Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh’s patronising remark that there was no need to cry, saying it underestimated what mothers in the area were living through and amounted to a personal attack.
She asked Lyngdoh to study Lum Shyllong and understand the concerns of local residents before making statements on the project.
The JAC has received support from Green-Tech Foundation (GTF), which spearheaded opposition to the Lumpongdeng tourism resort project, from which the government climbed down earlier this year.
GTF chairman H Bansiewdor Nonglang said that the JAC had approached the GTF for support, which the latter was willing to give as the negative impact of the ropeway could extend beyond the 544 trees felled for the project. He warned that it could result in commercialisation and exploitation of Lum Shyllong, which could have further negative environmental effects.
The protest comes a day after the state government ruled out scrapping or relocating the project, stating that the lease agreement signed four years ago binds the project to its present site and that the alignment is 3.15km away from water sources.
Meanwhile, East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal said that his office had granted permission for the sit-in up to 4pm. He said magistrates and police personnel had been deployed to ensure that public convenience is not compromised, while also ensuring that the protesters adhere to the timelines. The JAC members, for their part, expressed some disquiet at the police presence.
On initiatives to ensure that the protest does not spiral out of control, Baranwal said it is not the first time the committee is holding a sit-in protest and past experience has shown that the protests have been largely peaceful.
“As far as controlling it from spilling over, that’s why we have deployed magistrates and security personnel but I do not really expect any spilling over to other areas,” he said.
