Shillong, September 16: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction with a government meeting on the proposed facilitation centre at Umling in Ri-Bhoi, saying the discussion was “not fruitful” as only officials from the Tourism Department were present.
Former KSU general secretary Donald V. Thabah said the union had been invited by the Commissioner and Secretary in-charge Tourism to discuss the proposed facility at Umling, one of the key entry points into Meghalaya. “We were invited to discuss with regard to setting up of facilitation centre in Umling which is the entry point, however the only officers present there were only from the tourism department,” Thabah said.
He said Tourism officials explained the proposed layout of the centre, but the union’s broader concerns regarding implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) remained unresolved.
According to Thabah, the KSU had earlier objected to the limited space earmarked for the facilitation centre, particularly as a substantial portion of the premises was proposed to be occupied by a food court. He said the department informed the union that the space meant for the facilitation centre had now been increased from around 1,000 sq ft to 4,000 sq ft.
However, Thabah said the union was not in a position to immediately accept the revised proposal and would first have to discuss the matter with its leaders. “We cannot give them assurance that we are satisfied with what the tourism department is planning since our leaders are in jail. We have to discuss with them first, whether 4000 is enough or we require more,” he said.
Thabah stressed that the Umling entry point would have to cater not only to tourists but also to labourers, students, government officials and others entering the state for different purposes.
He questioned the present allocation of counters and rooms at the proposed facility, saying the arrangement appeared inadequate. “We see that only 2 rooms have been allotted for the tourism department, 1 for infiltration department and 1 for home department. We feel that there should be other counters dedicated to labour, health, education and other departments also, because if we have only a counter of tourism then there will be a long queue,” he said.
While acknowledging that online applications may be available, Thabah said not everyone may be able to use such services and therefore multiple departments should have a physical presence at the centre.
He added that Tourism officials themselves had told the KSU that they could not speak on behalf of other departments. Terming the meeting unsatisfactory, Thabah said, “This meeting was not fruitful, we are not satisfied with the meeting because only officials from tourism were there.”
The KSU also sought details on the proposed facilitation centre at Rattachera. Thabah said officials informed them that the land acquisition process was around 50% complete, but no clarity was given on the actual area earmarked for the facility or whether it would eventually function as an entry-exit facilitation centre.
He said the government should move away from holding separate, department-wise discussions and instead convene a comprehensive meeting involving all concerned departments on implementation of the MRSSA. “If the government engages us for talks, we want to talk about MRSSA. Like today we talked with the tourism department and then they will again have talks with us with the labour department. We feel that all officials from all departments should be there,” Thabah said.
He added that the KSU’s main objective was to discuss implementation of the principal Act and the functioning of facilitation centres. “We feel that the government should initiate a better method, a better way on how to engage us in talks with regard to facilitation centres,” he said.
