The Meghalaya government is “actively engaged” with its counterpart in Assam to resolve the thorny issue of the border dispute between the two states, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said today.
Sangma inaugurated the Mallangkona police outpost in West Khasi Hills, which sits on the disputed border with Assam.
Although six areas of difference have been resolved, another six, considered to be more difficult to sort out, are still left as major sticking points. Not much has happened on the border talks for nearly a year now due to various postponements, most recently because of the Lok Sabha election.
Delivering his address, the CM said that safety and security of the people of the state is of utmost priority of the government. “This has been a long pending demand of the people of Mallangkona to have a police outpost. This establishment of a new police outpost sends a very strong message that safety and security of our people is important,” Sangma said, adding that similar police set-ups will be put in place in other critical locations to ensure the protection of the people.
Others present on the day included Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, Rambra Jyrngam MLA Remington Gabil Momin, Director General of Police Idashisha Nongrang, Mawshynrut MDC Gigur Myrthong and other senior officials of the police department.
Sangma also said that having the outpost in an area that is close to the border with Assam will instil in the people of the area a sense of security and prevent untoward incidents.
“The state government is actively engaged with the government of Assam to resolve the areas of differences and we are working on resolving the next six areas of differences,” he added while stating that the government is aware of the difficulties faced by the people living in border areas and assured that the government is doing its best to address the issues and make the lives of the people better.
The Mallangkona police outpost was constructed through the Police Infrastructure Renovation Fund (PIRF) fund, which is available to Superintendents of Police to have a flexible fund where they can utilise to repair, make new constructions at the district level without having to take any approval from the state government. He lauded the role of the people of Mallangkona who came forward to help the government by working as labourers and even providing building materials.
“This is a very good and great example of the society coming together and sending a very strong message to the state. I would like to encourage other locations where such projects come up for the community to come forward and be part of the project,” the CM said.
The outpost was established in 2019 at a cost of Rs 17.5 lakh.
