CCIB to move Delhi on border woes

A Correspondent

Shillong, April 7: Members of the Coordition Committee on Intertiol Border (CCIB) on Monday visited Dawki, West Jaintia Hills district and met the border villagers to understand their problems.

The CCIB is a conglomerate of organisations including the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) and headmen and representatives of villages along the border.

During the visit, the leaders of the organisations interacted with the border villagers. During the visit, president of the FKJGP Joe Marwein was accompanied by KSU president Daniel Khyriem.  

The members of the CCIB urged the villagers to stand united and not let even an inch of land to be parted to Bangladesh.

During the interaction with the members of the CCIB, a villager MF Ryngksai said that from Pillar No. 1273 – 1299, India stands to lose portions of land as per the 2011 Protocol. Ryngksai also highlighted that from Pillar No 1251 – 1272, large tracts of land will have to be parted to Bangladesh as per the 2011 Protocol. Ryngksai also informed that in case of Sankhat, the Dorbar Shnong along with villagers should petition the Deputy Commissioner of West Jaintia Hills for re-inspection of the area.

 The meeting also resolved to select members for a drafting committee which will petition the Central Government on the problems faced by the villagers living along the India-Bangladesh border. It may be mentioned the land agreement protocol was signed between India and Bangladesh during Manmohan Singh’s visit to Bangladesh in September 2011.

Construction of fencing in the stretch in Meghalaya had been suspended for long due to protests by the CCIB, mainly over land acquisition. The CCIB wants proper demarcation of the intertiol boundary between India and Bangladesh before erecting fencing on the zero line. About 70-km long stretch is still unfenced in the Indo-Bangladesh border.