SHILLONG, AUG 10: The proscribed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) militant outfit has called for three days bandh in the six districts of the Khasi and Jaintia hills to protest against the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ban on rat-hole coal mining in the state and also against the central government policy.
HNLC publicity secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw said in a statement issued on Sunday that the three days bandh will be effective from August 13 from 6 pm to 6 pm on August 15.
Nongtraw said the shutdown on August 13 and 14 was called to protest against NGT’s ban on coal mining that has affected the livelihood of the people and August 15 the bandh is to protest against the policy of the Government of India in forcing the signing of the Instrument of Accession and annexed Agreement on August 17, 1948 at gunpoint.
Nongtraw, however, said medical attendants, ambulance services, media person vehicles, religious ceremonies are exempted from the purview of the shutdown.
Referring to the NGT ban, Nongtraw said what kind of Independence shall the people observe when their livelihood is at stake.
Nongtraw said, “All our poor people including daily wage earners, vegetable vendors and farmers at this time should try to understand that the total shutdown is inevitable as lakhs of our poor people from Jaintia hills, West Khasi hills, Ri Bhoi, and even Garo hills have been badly affected and we should have the ability to sacrifice, for the interests of our own people.”
Stating that the shutdown is not meant to take away the livelihood of the people, Nongtraw said, “It is a voice to protest against the NGT and the centre that is hell bent to throw our poor people into the dungeon of hunger.”
The HNLC also threatened to take action against the members of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
“If the NGT continues on this delay tactics then the HNLC would not hesitate to take up action against members of the NGT,” Nongtraw warned while pointing out that the people will become poorer and die of hunger as the NGT keeps on giving date after date for hearing.
Further, the HNLC statement maintained that it has not taken up the issue against the NGT to protect the interests of the wealthy businessmen but it has taken a firm decision to stand up for the poorer sections who have been badly affected by this blanket ban.
The HNLC also claimed that after a thorough introspection it doubts that the present crisis was created by businessmen turned Congress leaders in order to regulate mining activities and to monopolize coal trade.
Nongtraw said, “If the mining policy is implemented, then only a few counted tycoons will take over the coal business, as it would be difficult for small time investors to invest huge sum of money. Ultimately only the big fish will dominate the coal business.”
Those who claimed that none has been affected by the ban, Nongtraw said, “They should conduct surveys and find out for themselves as who are being deprived of food, education and unemployment.”
Nongtraw accused the state government of not being concerned of protecting the environment all the while because it earned huge revenues amounting to thousands of crores. He said, “Whereas politicians, businessmen and police had minted huge sums of money through toll gates. The main source of income of the police was only through extortion from truck drivers.”
Criticizing the alleged wrongdoings of the government, Nongtraw further stated that the government should have made it compulsory to plant trees in coal belts and should have imposed huge fine on people who were responsible to pollute rivers. But, he accused, the government were partners in crime for this whole environmental degradation. And now he said the poor people are made to suffer enormously at the hands of the NGT and the government agencies.
In a hard hitting statement the HNLC blamed the corrupt officers of the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) and Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) for being responsible for the environmental damage.
Stating that the state government does not want the indigenous people to prosper economically, the HNCL said, “The government is against our people. In order to trick our people away from true solutions, the government is trying to deceive our people with a false solution, a phony solution, a deceitful solution.”
Nongtraw said that the HNLC can foresee that soon time would come when the indigenous people would not have enough jobs for themselves and, therefore, he said , “So the present demand of our people to sustain themselves must lead to violence and bloodshed. It may even lead to an economic war.”
Nongtraw also blamed the state government for pushing the indigenous people towards unemployment, hunger and an economical crisis. He said, “We must have a permanent solution. A temporary solution won’t do.”- By Our Reporter
Let us see how the people react to the ban called by HNLC. I feel those leaders including our two MPs who went to request the President for his intervention against the NGT ban should support the ban called by the HNLC.
This is absurd! HNLC should think of ordinary citizens who make their living by a day’s earning. Bandh is not a solution, because it affects the economy. Have other kinds of agitation process.
HNLC and MP’s are on the same boat . NGT banned coal mining, Goverment Banned HNLC, HNLC banned public, public should ban MP’s this is a Meghalaya life cycle.