Hundreds of passengers and vehicles were stranded near the Assam-Meghalaya border on Thursday after cab operators and transport workers blocked the highway connecting the two states in protest against the targeting of people from Assam during violence in Shillong a day earlier.
The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) organised the rally as it stepped up its agitation against what it called the state government’s indifferent attitude towards its five-point charter of demands, including the full implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, which was passed in 2016 to check illegal infiltration and verify tenants, until an Inner Line Permit system (ILP) is put in place. It has been demanding the establishment of facilitation centres at all 18 entry points in the Khasi and Jaiñtia Hills for the implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act. An ILP allows an Indian citizen to visit protected or restricted areas in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur. They alleged that drivers and others from Assam were assaulted in the Meghalaya Police’s presence. “They were assaulting us selectively, and their police were just watching, as if we were in a different country. And this was not the first time that Assam drivers were assaulted. The KSU has sought action against the deputy commissioner, police superintendent, and the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board for allegedly obstructing public participation at a July hearing on a cement manufacturing plant in East Jaiñtia Hills. “This is a violation of the law of the land. We will take necessary action on this matter.”
Assam cab operators said they prevented Meghalaya-registered vehicles from entering Assam in protest against the violence that left many from their state injured and traumatised. We faced this discrimination many times,” said a cab operator in Guwahati. Syiem said the violence left residents frightened, with police continuing to receive calls from people asking whether it was safe to venture out.
