CCIB activists arrested, decide to launch fresh agitation

Shillong, Apr 3 (UNI) The influential Coordination Committee on International Border(CCIB) today staged a surprise dharna here to protest the ongoing fencing of the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya.

However, the agitating CCIB activists were arrested later by the police for violating Section 144 Cr PC which prohibits assembly of more than five people in and around the city.

The state police have booked the activists under Section 188 IPC, a police official said.

The CCIB--a conglomerate of five organisations--launched agitation in protest against the Union government's decision to fence the porous Indo-Bangla border, 150 yards from the zero line.

At least 40 villages have demanded fresh demarcation of the border, as they were unhappy with the proposed arrangement of working on their agricultural land beyond the fence.

The Centre has to fence the border to contain illegal infiltration from Bangladeshis and cross-border terrorism.

''We will be losing all our cultivable land and Bangladeshi's will reap in our land if the government continues to fence 150 yards from zero line,'' CCIB spokesman G H Kharshanlor told UNI here over the phone.

Mr Kharshanlor said the CCIB would soon announce its agitational programme to press the government to comply with their demands.

A couple of weeks back, the CCIB had served a 72-hour 'quit notice' to the National Building Construction Corporation(NBCC) workers engaged in border-fencing alleging that the NBCC had violated the government's notification which directed them to suspend fencing work in all the disputed areas between Nongjri in East Khasi Hills and Jaliakhola in Jaintia Hills. However, the time ended on March 28.

However, the Union Home Ministry has directed the Meghalaya government to provide foolproof security to the NBCC workers in view of the 'quit notice'.

Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy invited the CCIB to hold discussion with the government after the latter decided to launch an agitation in the state demanding stoppage of the border fencing in disputed areas.

However, the CCIB rejected the offer saying that they would reciprocate the government's offer only if the government stopped the fencing work.

UNI