Shillong Ropeway Meeting Ends in Uproar as Protesters and Officials Clash

CORRESPONDENT  

SHILLONG, Nov 11: A meeting convened by Meghalaya Cabinet Minister and South Shillong legislator Sanbor Shullai to discuss the proposed Shillong Peak Ropeway Project ended in a chaotic scene here on Wednesday, with the Joint Action Committee (JAC) maintaining its opposition to the project and both sides trading accusations over the abrupt closure of the meeting. 

Organised by the 19-South Shillong Advisory Committee at the Cultural Hall of the State Convention Centre in the city, the meeting was intended to address concerns raised by protesters, including the project's potential impact on water sources. 

The committee had proposed approaching Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to constitute an independent panel of technical and environmental experts, including representatives from IITs and NITs, to conduct a detailed study on whether the proposed ropeway would affect water sources.

However, the meeting ended without any consensus, with the JAC alleging that Shullai read out the proposal, invited participants to express their views and then declared the meeting over after only two women had spoken. 

The committee also alleged that the press was prevented from video-recording the proceedings. Shullai however disputed the JAC's account, claiming that four to five people had spoken and alleging that some participants were intent on creating a disturbance rather than listening to the proposal. 

He further alleged that the opposition to the project was being politically instigated, naming Vinetia Mawlong, whom he identified as a former Congress candidate who had contested against him in the previous Assembly election, and claiming that she was now at the forefront of the protest.

The meeting between the JAC and the South Shillong legislator came amid an indefinite sit-in demonstration by women under the JAC banner at Barik in the city, which entered its fifth day on Wednesday, demanding that the proposed ropeway project be scrapped or relocated. 

Despite the meeting convened to explore a way forward, the protesters remain firm in their opposition to the project, with Wednesday's proceedings ending in a blame game rather than a resolution to the growing dispute.

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