Shillong

The Khasi Students' Union (KSU) has accepted the Meghalaya government's invitation for talks on its five demands, days after violence broke out during the organisation's August 19 rally in Shillong. The decision was taken by the KSU Central Executive Committee (CEC) at an emergency meeting on the evening of August 25, the organisation said. KSU Information and Publicity Secretary Pynshai Kular Dkhar said the group hoped the meeting would be productive. The talks are scheduled for 6 pm on Wednesday, August 26, at the Conference Hall of the Meghalaya Secretariat. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma is expected to meet KSU representatives, according to a letter sent to the organisation on Monday by D D Syngai, Joint Secretary in charge of Home (Political). The KSU's demands include ac...

The state government will reduce the price of Polo shopping mall and float a fresh EOI after it found no takers, while the Khyndailad mall is expected to start functioning by the end of this year. Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Urban Affairs Sniawbhalang Dhar on Monday said though the Polo project was long completed, it failed to attract bidders due to high pricing. “We have called EOI three times but nobody came forward, probably because the price was too high. Now we have decided to reduce the price and call EOI once again,” he said. Dhar said the allotment model is being reworked to ensure local participation. “We will not allot it as a single unit. We will allow small players also so that locals can participate. We have worked that out,” he said, adding that the intent be...

The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) will take a final call on the state government’s invitation for talks at its emergency Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting on Tuesday, assistant general secretary Pynshaiborlang Rani said. The government has invited the KSU for dialogue on its five-point charter of demands following the recent unrest. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had announced that the government was ready to hold talks. Rani said the Union came to know about the invite through media reports on Monday morning and later received the official letter between 11 am and 12 pm. He said convening the CEC on Monday itself was not possible as leaders had to be called from across districts. “So it is difficult to call a CEC meeting because within our organisation we have leader...

Ri-Bhoi Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Abhishek Saini has prohibited unauthorised vehicle stoppages, blockades, forcible checking of permits and other disruptions to traffic across the district following recent unrest and disruption of vehicular movement between Assam and Meghalaya. The order, issued at Nongpoh on August 22 under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, will remain in force for 60 days unless revoked or modified earlier. While Assam-based commercial transport operators, tourist taxi associations and drivers have withdrawn their agitation and blockade, restoring normal inter-State connectivity, reports indicated that local taxi associations, including the All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association (AKMTTA), and other groups o...

A heavy security presence was witnessed near the life-size statue of legendary freedom fighter U Kiang Nangbah opposite Civil Hospital, Shillong, on Monday after the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) announced plans to hold a sit-in protest at the site from 11 am. The East Khasi Hills district administration has denied permission to the student body to stage the demonstration in support of its five-point charter of demands. Despite the denial, the KSU has so far not disclosed its next course of action. Security personnel were deployed in large numbers around the proposed protest site as authorities remained on alert to prevent any untoward incident and maintain law and order. The KSU has also announced similar sit-in programmes in seven districts of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills on Tuesday. ...

Long queues were seen at petrol pumps across Shillong on Friday evening as residents rushed to refill amid rumours of a potential disruption in fuel supplies to Meghalaya. The panic was triggered by the ongoing road blockade along the Guwahati-Shillong highway, now in its second day, where Assam-based groups have been restricting vehicular movement between the two states. Social media messages claiming that the Petroleum Mazdoor Union had decided to halt petrol supplies further fuelled the anxiety. The rush led to severe traffic congestion in several parts of the city, with queues spilling onto main roads as vehicle owners scrambled to fill their tanks amid growing uncertainty.Assam transport associations blocked Meghalaya-registered vehicles at Jorabat, while the FKJGP blocked Assam vehi...

The state government has deployed heavy security, including personnel from the Rapid Action Force (RAF), at Khyndai Lad following the Khasi Students' Union's (KSU) announcement to hold a sit-in protest in the area. Besides state police personnel, including the Special Operations Team (SoT), CRPF personnel have also been deployed around Khyndai Lad. The heightened security measures are aimed at preventing the KSU from proceeding with the agitation after the East Khasi Hills District Administration denied permission for the protest.

Unidentified miscreants hurled petrol bombs at the National People's Party (NPP) office at Lachumiere and Madanriting police station in separate incidents in the early hours of Friday. The NPP office came under attack at around 5 am when two unidentified persons allegedly hurled petrol bombs at the party office. Police personnel were on duty at the office at the time of the incident, but no injuries were reported. Following the attack, police cordoned off and secured the office premises to prevent any further untoward incident. In a separate incident, a petrol bomb was hurled at Madanriting police station at around 1.30 am. No damage was reported in the incident.

Police on Thursday produced three senior leaders of the Khasi Students' Union (KSU) before the District and Sessions Court in Shillong following their arrest amid heightened tensions in the city. Those produced before the court were KSU president Raymond Kharjana, vice-president Pynskhemlang Sanmiet and general secretary Rueben Najiar. The court remanded all three KSU leaders to 14 days in judicial custody. Speaking to reporters after leaving the court, KSU general secretary Rueben Najiar alleged that the government's decision to arrest the leaders was an attempt to suppress the ongoing movement. Najiar, however, said the KSU would not back down and would continue to press for its demands.