Jugali blocks MeECL road

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, JAN 16: Hundreds of qualified jugali candidates’ on Monday  gheraod the entrance of the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) to protest against the corporation failure to provide them Letter Of Appointment (LOP).

Shouting slogans such as “We want justice” – the aggrieved protestors decided to sit on the road blocking vehicles from entering the premises of the MeECL.

Backed by the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) State Youth Wing, the protest was staged after the MeECL chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) PS Thangkhiew refused to meet the delegation.

The MeECL had declared 772 candidates as eligible for the post of jugalis in the department. It had also agreed to provide appointment to 336 under phase-one, 233 each for phase-two and phase-three

What is worrying the candidates is because that the validity of the merit list is expiring on August this year and not a single appointment letter has been issued by the MeECL.

It was only later that the MeECL secretary Debojit Warjri came out and assured that the corporation would try its best to complete the process of issuing appointment letters to all the qualified candidates before August.

However before agreeing to disperse the protestors demanded an official assurance, to which Warjri assured that it would be given tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters, KHNAM-SYW president Thomas Passah said, “If they (MeECL) failed giving appointment to all the eligible candidates before August, we will intensify our agitation to ensure justice is delivered and the MeECL should be responsible for any consequences arising out of such protest.”

Stating that the MeECL had claimed that the delay is because of slow process of completing the police verification, Passah however said, “But the Centre government had on April last year decided to do away with the police verification before giving appointment.”

He said, therefore, the MeECL can give appointment based on candidates’ self-certification that they have no criminal records in any police stations.

“It is sad that the officials of the MeECL were caught unaware of such decision by the Centre. We have assured them that we will provide them a copy of this order,” he said.

On the other hand, the KHNAM-SYW leader also condemned the CMD for allegedly issuing warning to the jugalis from participating in the protest, which according to him is an attempt to silence them from asking what is their own rights.

Reacting to a query, Passah also said that the CMD’s refusal to meet the delegation shows that he is behaving like a master of the people rather than servant of the people.