Jowai, July 06: The AJYWO Central Governing Body on Saturday sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, informing him about the plights and hardships faced by the people of Jaintia Hills and the state of Meghalaya due to the sudden ban on coal mining and transporting imposed by the NGT for almost the last two and half months, as well as requesting him to intervene the NGT order so that it would be lifted up from the state of Meghalaya.
In a memorandum sent to the PM of India, AJYWO informed him that the interim blanket ban on coal mining and transporting of the NGT imposed upon Meghalaya had greatly affected the life and economy of the people of Jaintia Hills especially those that belong to the marginalized economy families of the region. Due to the said ban, tens of thousands of the people of Jaintia Hills have turned jobless and remained astray. The AJYWO also informed him that the future of tens of thousands of families who used to depend their livelihood either directly or indirectly on coal is dark and uncertain.
The AJYWO also added in its statement in the memorandum to the PM that a manmade disastrous plague of hunger is awaiting the people of Jaintia Hills due to the said NGT order.
The AJYWO has also expressed concern in its memorandum, stating that due to the said order of the NGT, the affected people of the region may be forced to involve with different menace of crimes like thefts, lootings, robberies, murders etc. At present the society in the region has also become unsecured, as the fear of insecurity and uncertainty has already crept up into the mind set of the people of the region, the AJYWO informed the PM through the memorandum.
The most dangerous thing, is that if the order of the NGT is continuing like this, the jobless, frustrated and desperate youth and even the good and responsive but affected citizens of the region may be soon misguided to join anti-social or underground groups turning away from their main stream of life just to fulfill their basic needs of life and when this time comes, it will pose a dangerous threat to the society of the region, the state and the national security as well.
The AJYWO also request the Prime Minister to immediately find out ways and means to restore back the people to their normal peaceful life as before.
“In our Memorandum to the Prime Minister, we requested him to use all his might to intervene the said order of the NGT and that it may be withdrawn from the state of Meghalaya soon. We, also requested the PM to table these problems faced by the people of Jaintia Hills by the extension of the NGT jurisdiction to the state of Meghalaya by the last government, soon in the Parliament and that the NGT jurisdiction be withdrawn from the tribal state of Meghalaya, stating the state falls in the scheduled areas and governed by the Sixth Scheduled of the constitution of India, where the people living in it, are minority backward tribal people having their own traditional and customary land laws system, which is different from the rest of the country”, Mr M H Dkhar the President of AJYWO Central Governing Body said in the press statement.
“Please do not take away or bread and butter. Please do not disturb us but let us live in peace as before”, the AJYWO stated in its memorandum to the Prime Minister.(SP News)
