Local leaders of Umru village and nearby areas on the Ri-Bhoi and Assam border have distanced themselves from a statement by an unknown group that residents of the disputed border region under Raid Nongtung have threatened to align their area with Assam after allegedly being denied developmental schemes by the Meghalaya government.
The local leaders today termed the statement as “wrong and baseless.” The representatives of the Synjuk ki Rangbah Shnong Border Areas of Raid Nongtung and the Dorbar Shnong of Umru also expressed their shock and lamented the statement being published in a section of the media.
Umru headman Linus Khyriem said, far from being ignored by the government, the locals are benefiting from the rural employment guarantee scheme (MGNREGS), ration cards and other amenities.
