Shutdown affects life in Meghalaya

SHILLONG - Normal life came to a standstill in Meghalaya Tuesday following a dawn-to-dusk shutdown enforced by six NGOs to protest the killing of four people in firing at Langpih village on the state’s border with Assam.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma Tuesday led an all-party delegation to Langpih, some 140 km from here, and urged the locals to maintain calm.

The Khasi-Jaintia dominated areas in the eastern part of Meghalaya have been paralysed following the shutdown.

A petrol bomb attack was reported on a vehicle at Mauprem in Shillong. However, no one was injured, police said.

Shops, businesses and educational institutions remained closed, while there was little movement of public and private transport.

The state secretariat wore a deserted look, while attendance in other government offices and courts was thin.

National Highways No.40 and 44, the lifelines for the landlocked Mizoram, Tripura and parts of Manipur and southern Assam, were also affected by the shutdown.

“There have been no reports of any untoward incident and the situation is normal,” Rajiv Mehta, additional director general of police in charge law and order, told IANS.

Sangma assured the tribal Khasis and Garos residing in the disputed Langpih village they would be protected.

“All efforts will made by the Meghalaya government to ensure peace and normalcy in the area,” the chief minister said. The all-party delegation comprised of Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), United Democratic Party and Hill State People’s Democratic Party members.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the main opposition party in Meghalaya, and the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM), a constituent of the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance coalition government, boycotted the all-party delegation.

Langpih village, about 60 km from Guwahati in Assam and 140 km from Shillong, has been a bone of contention between Assam and Meghalaya. The area has often hit the headlines since the Assam government laid the cornerstone for a health centre at the village in July 2008.

Assam lays claim to Langpih based on the recommendations of the Chandrachud Committee report, while Meghalaya has rejected the report.

A boundary committee headed by the chief secretaries of both states has been formed to amicably resolve the issue.