Shillong: Fearing largescale influx of
people after the introduction of a rail link, the Khasi
Students Union has expressed concern over the proposal to set
up a railway line from Assam to Byrnihat in Meghalaya.
KSU general secretary Hamlet Dohling said that there
was no change of stance on the part of the union which had
opposed the Centre's proposal way back in 1985-86 to start a
railway line to Byrnihat.
The opposition by the KSU to the proposed railway link
two decades back had witnessed large-scale unrest, prompting
the government to abandon the plan then.
The fresh opposition to the railway project in the
state has come in the wake of the Cabinet decision on Monday
to go ahead with the construction of a railway line from
Tetelia in Assam's Kamrup district to Byrnihat in Ri Bhoi
district of Meghalaya.
"We will oppose the railway line to Khasi Hills
until the government adopts an effective mechanism to control
large scale influx," Dohling said yesterday.
"There is already a large influx of migrants into
the state through roadways, we do not want to see the
situation aggravating with the introduction of railways in the
state," he said.
The KSU said the union had written to Union Minister
of State for Water Resource Vincent Pala opposing the state
cabinet decision.
Pala, he said, has communicated their concerns to
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 15:31
