SHILLONG, OCT 17: The Joint Action Committee Against Shillong Ropeway on Saturday took out a protest rally from Last Stop to the starting point of the Shillong Ropeway project, demanding that the government shift the project from Laban Pyllun.
Displaying anti-ropeway placards, residents warned that they will intensify their agitation if the government fails to act within 10 days.
“We have given an ultimatum to the government to reconsider this project and take it somewhere else. This is not the right place for a tourist spot,” said JAC Secretary Dr Linda Marbaniang.
She added, “We have given the government 10 days to take a decision. If they don’t listen to us, we will extend our agitation. We really do not want the ropeway here. It is all negative, not a benefit for the people here. We the residents will suffer.”
Marbaniang said the collective will decide the next legal course if the demand is ignored.
Asked if the JAC will move the Meghalaya High Court, she said, “We will have to sit together and think about what is the next step. Collectively, we will make a decision.”
Rejecting the government’s claim of no environmental impact, she said the felling of trees for the project has already led to water shortage in the area.
“We have to be practical. Can you say there is no environmental effect? You live in Shillong. The rainfall we used to receive is not there anymore. We have cut down so many trees and this has affected the weather. When there is no rainfall, there is no water. The springs here will dry up,” she said.
On the proposal for compensatory plantation on alternative land, she said, “Very sorry, we don’t have that.”
Marbaniang said a hunger strike could be considered as part of the next phase of agitation.
Explaining the delayed protest, she said residents were kept in the dark and no public hearing was held.
“When they started, they did not call for a public hearing. We were unaware. We are not against development. But after they cut down the trees, there was shortage of water everywhere. We realized it was because of this,” she said.
“It took time because we had to go to different departments to find out the facts. We had to file RTIs, get papers. We cannot come out without papers, without justification,” she added.
She also questioned how construction is continuing without mandatory clearances.
“You don’t even have the NOC, you don’t even have the trading license but work is going on. Is it right? You have gone against human law and regulation. More dangerously, you have gone against the law of the Lord God Almighty who has given us this Lum Shillong to preserve. Do not touch this. It is sacred, it is a God-given gift. Don’t let the wrath of God come out,” she said.
Accusing the Dorbar Shnong of betrayal, she said, “They have done this behind our back. They did not intimate us, did not call us for a public hearing, did not discuss with us whether we wanted it or not. It is a total betrayal.”
She said the JAC is willing to attend a public hearing if called by the government.
