The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has maintained its opposition to a rail link to Shillong, whether for goods or passengers, as long as the state government fails to execute the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and other regulations aimed at reducing immigration.
“As long as we don’t see any regulations that would preserve the ‘Jaitbynriew,’ we will stand against rail link,” KSU president Lambokstar Marngar stated during a meeting in Diwah village, South West Khasi Hills, on Saturday. If the state government wants to build railway lines, it should first apply ILP, and then we will consider whether or not to accept it, because we have already seen that despite the lack of a railway, the influx continues in various areas.”
Many individuals have accused the KSU of standing in the way of progress in the state, but Marngar claims that the KSU does not oppose any development that does not impact the ‘Jaitbynriew.’ “However, the KSU will continue to oppose anything that comes in the name of progress but has a hidden objective to ruin ‘Jaitbynriew’ in the future,” he continued.
Passenger trains, according to NGOs in the mountainous state, will result in an influx of strangers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the capitals of India’s northeastern states will soon be connected by rail while speaking to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on India’s 75th Independence Day.
In Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim, construction is underway to connect the capitals or extend the railway line to the nearest location. Although Meghalaya has a railway station — Mendipathar in the North Garo Hills area, just metres from the Assam border — connecting it to Shillong has been a difficult task for the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
The government has set 2024 as the deadline.
Manipur, on the other hand, has made its mark on India’s railway map, as the state’s first passenger train arrived in July of this year.
