Shillong, Sep 1: The East Khasi Hills district administration has issued show-cause notices to the two organisers of a disruptive fishing competition at Mawryngkneng and directed police to register an FIR against them for alleged violations of the conditions laid down when permission was granted for the event.
East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal today said the show-cause notices were issued for violation of the conditions stipulated in the permission, while police have simultaneously been directed to register an FIR against the organisers on charges relating to public nuisance and violations under the Motor Vehicles Act.
Commuters were stranded for several hours in a massive traffic jam from Mawryngkneng towards Puriang and the bypass road on Saturday due to a fishing competition and lucky draw at Mawryngkneng. This led to public inconvenience, prompting the district administration to act against the organisers.
Speaking on measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, Baranwal said the district administration is working on standard operating procedures (SOPs) to regulate such competitions.
Under the proposed mechanism, organisers will have to provide sufficient advance information and seek permission well ahead of the event. The administration also plans to introduce mandatory joint inspections of venues before such events are allowed.
He said that at present, inspections are largely carried out by the block office, but the proposed system would bring the concerned departments together to assess the arrangements and potential impact of such events.
The administration is also examining the possibility of introducing penalties in cases where private events result in public nuisance.
“This is something that we need to discuss,” Baranwal said, referring to the proposed mechanism for imposing penalties when such events cause inconvenience or disturbance to the public.
The proposed SOPs are aimed at ensuring better coordination among departments and tighter regulation of private fishing competitions and similar events in the district.
