Meghalaya: Activists Call For 5 Night Road Blockade

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Guwahati, Sep 23 : The agitation for introduction of an Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya, which will check the inflow of "outsiders", continued on Sunday as 10 pressure groups called for a five-night road blockade in the hill state starting Monday.

Pro-ILP groups have said they will "enforce" the blockade from 8 pm to 5 am for five days, while their members will picket government offices on September 26 and 27. The groups include student bodies like Khasi Students' Union and Garo Students' Union, and NGOs like Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People and Civil Society Women's Organization.

"We have decided to go ahead with our next phase of action in protest of the state's adamant attitude against the the high-level committee recommendation of implementing an Inner Line Permit system in Meghalaya," Eldie N Lyngdoh, joint spokesperson of the 10 groups said in Shillong on Sunday.

Last year, the high-level committee had recommended the introduction of the ILP but with changes. The committee had proposed an ILP that would ensure the participation of traditional institutions, NGOs and civil society, apart from making sure genuine residents of the state were not harassed.

Chief minister Mukul Sangma had turned down the recommendation in favour of a more 'comprehensive mechanism' that would, instead of the "archaic" ILP system, put in place a stringent tenancy law.