Conrad meets Church leaders, pressure groups

Normalcy roadmap

A Correspondent

Shillong, June 5: The state government today met Church leaders of various denominations in an attempt to bring peace in violence hit Shillong.

Speaking to media persons after meeting the Church leaders, Chief Minister, Conrad Kongkal Sangma said that the idea of meeting them was to reach out and seek their support to diffuse the situation.

“We want the religious leaders to pray so that peace can comeback in our State,” Conrad said.

Quoting the Church leaders, the Chief Minister said that they appreciated the initiative of the state government for exercising maximum restraint to ensure that there were no casualty among the citizens.

According to Conrad, the Church leaders have also suggested that different societies and groups should be consulted in whatever work the Government is doing.

“We are looking to work with the Church leaders and different groups of societies to work with them even in the future,” the Chief Minister added.

Later in the afternoon, various pressure groups met Conrad on the prevailing law and order situation in the city.

In a representation submitted to the Chief Minister, the pressure groups alleged that the main cause leading to the unrest in Shillong was because of the failures of the police department to arrest the culprits involved in assaulting three minor boys on May 31 at Them ïew Mawlong (Harijan colony).

Reminding the state government that the demand for shifting the settlers at the colony is a long pending one, the pressure groups said that there was a need to shift the residents since the area has become congested and an eyesore. According to the groups the area has become a place where crime and illegal activities are taking place.

The pressure groups also urged the district administration to lift the curfew in the Motphran area since being a commercial area, people earning their bread are finding difficulty to sustain their families.

The pressure groups also wanted police to stop randomly arresting people and unconditionally release those arrested during the protest at Motphran and adjoining areas.