Meghalaya Unrest: CM Says CCTVs to be Installed in Shillong
As of Sunday, at least 3 people had lost their lives in clashes between tribal and non-tribal groups in Meghalaya.
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Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday, 7 March, said CCTVs will be installed in “as many locations as possible” in Shillong following last week’s violence that left three people dead.
Meghalaya Police has put in place 30 CCTVs across the city and 28 of these are in working condition and monitored round-the-clock, a senior home department official said.
This comes days after an incident of violence was reported during curfew hours on the outskirts of the Meghalaya capital on Thursday while curfew was relaxed at many places and mobile internet services were restored in all the six districts where it was withdrawn, police said.
One labourer, identified as Sanidul Islam from Assam, was taken to hospital after being stabbed by four masked men in Mawkhar, Meghalaya. According to The Quint's sources, the incident took place at around 2:30 pm. This is the second incident of stabbing since Friday in Meghalaya.
A 28-year-old man was stabbed with a broken bottle by an unidentified miscreant and shops rented to businesspersons were set on fire in Photkroh town in South West Khasi Hills district on Sunday.
On Thursday, miscreants also hurled stones at a taxi in the Nongmynsong area on the outskirts of the state capital while the night curfew was on, the police said, adding that the vehicle was partially damaged in the incident.
Shillong and its outskirts under East Khasi Hills district are under a night curfew since Saturday.However, curfew was lifted at Nongmynsong at 6 am till further orders, officials said.
On Friday, 28 February, clashes had broken out between the Khasi Students' Union members and non-tribals during a rally organised against the Citizenship Amendment Act and demanding implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the Ichamati area of East Khasi Hills district close to the Indo-Bangladesh border.
Assam Cong MLAs Urge Meghalaya Govt to Ensure Safe Return of Migrant Workers
A delegation of Congress MLAs of Assam on urged the Meghalaya government to ensure the safe return of migrant workers.
The delegation, comprising Karimganj North MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Mariani MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi and Boko MLA Nandita Das, met state Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui and urged him to take necessary steps.
They also met their party colleagues in Meghalaya and sought the intervention of Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma.
“I could tell you that thousands of migrant workers from Assam are stuck at various construction sites in Meghalaya," she said. "In view of this, we have come to meet the government. We have met the home minister and apprised him of the concern expressed by the families of these workers. Therefore, we have requested the government to ensure a safe return for our people,” Das said.
Sangma said the MLAs from Assam have expressed the need to restore normalcy and peace in the state and the region.
He said the volatile situation has vitiated the environment of peace and harmony and it has generated a certain amount of anxiety and sense of insecurity among the minds of family members of many people who happen to be in Meghalaya for making themselves available as migrant workers.
“They are here to collectively contribute to restoring normalcy in the state and the region,” he said.
Meghalaya and Assam are interdependent and people of both the states are directly and indirectly connected, the former chief minister said.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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