Fearing largescale influx of people after the introduction of a rail link, the Khasi Students Union has expressed concern over the proposal to set up a railway line from Assam to Byrnihat in Meghalaya.
KSU general secretary Hamlet Dohling said that there was no change of stance on the part of the union which had opposed the Centre’s proposal way back in 1985-86 to start a railway line to Byrnihat.
The opposition by the KSU to the proposed railway link two decades back had witnessed large-scale unrest, prompting the government to abandon the plan then.
The fresh opposition to the railway project in the State has come in the wake of the Cabinet decision on Monday to go ahead with the construction of a railway line from Tetelia in Assam’s Kamrup district to Byrnihat in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya.
“We will oppose the railway line to Khasi Hills until the government adopts an effective mechanism to control large scale influx,” Mr. Dohling said on Wednesday.
“There is already a large influx of migrants into the State through roadways, we do not want to see the situation aggravating with the introduction of railways in the State,” he said.
The KSU said the union had written to Union Minister of State for Water Resource Vincent Pala opposing the State cabinet decision.
Pala, he said, has communicated their concerns to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.
