Khasi body opposes wildlife sanctuaries in Barak

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: The proposed Barak Bhuban Wildlife Sanctuary is going to face opposition from the Khasi Students' Association as the student body in its annual general meeting vowed to register their protest against the proposal. KSA feared that the wildlife sanctuary would ruin the livelihoods of thousands of tribal settlers and they might even be forcefully evicted from the land they had been staying for generations.

The general meeting, held on Saturday at Khasiya Punjee in Krishnapur, was hugely attended by the Khasi and Jaintia people of the valley. The meeting, presided over by Paul Lyngdoh, former minister of Meghalaya as well as the former president of the student body, strongly opposed the proposed wildlife sanctuary as they argued that such a move would definitely harm the tribal people.

Labingwell Mukhiya, president of the Khasi-Jaintia Welfare Organization, said, "It is not that the tribals who will harmed, both the Barak Bhunan Sanctuary as well as Borail Wildlife Sanctuary would equally spell doom for the plain dwellers. Reminding that they had been residing in this place since the time of their king, Mukhiya said that the present government could not just evict these dwellers. "Government should withdraw the proposal of these projects otherwise we will resort to agitation," he warned.

Wanbor Podang, the general secretary of the Association, echoed the same thoughts. "If the demands are not given a positive response, we will raise our voice and start democratic protest. If these sanctuaries are granted then the existence of almost 150 villages of more than 1.5 lakh dwellers will be impacted badly. The sanctuaries will take away the source of livelihood of the people living there," he argued.

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