KSU activist arrested ahead of anti-Uranium mining protest

Shillong, June 3 (UNI) Ahead of the anti-Uranium mining lobbies' week-long agitation, Meghalaya police arrested a Khasi Student Union (KSU) activist and raided several houses of the Union leaders in the state.

The arrest of KSU Organising Secretary S Khonglah came after the government decided to go ahead with the public hearing to be held at Nongbah Jynrin village on June 12.

However, police officials said Khonglah was arrested last evening for his involvemet in an earlier stone pelting incident and disruption of public movement during the earlier KSU agitations.

The influential KSU, which was against the public hearing, had announced their week-long agitational programme to force the state government to cancel the public hearing.

The state had seen several rounds of picketing and bandhs, mainly on the mining issue in the state.

The fresh KSU-sponsored two-day office picketing in Khasi and Jaintia Hills on June 4 and 5 and followed by night road blockade called from June 4 - 9 between 1900 to 0050 hrs.

However, the educational institutions had been exempted from the protest.

The Langrin Youth Welfare Association(LYWA), which received mass-support in the Uranium belt areas in West Khasi Hills had extended its support to the KSU in its movement against the public hearing.

Chief Minister D D Lapang, who convened a high-level meeting last evening had said the hearing was to provide a platform to all persons of the area to air their views, comments, suggestions and objections regarding the environmental issues connected with Uranium mining.

He also appealed to the anti-mining lobbies not to disrupt the proposed public hearing so as to enable the central and state government along with the people at large in assessing the opinion of the people, including the local residents, before taking a view on the matter.

The Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM), both ruling partners of the Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government had also opposed the public hearing.

Meanwhile, the government had deployed one platoon of state police to maintain law and order in the Wahkaji-Mawthabah villages and the proposed uranium mining site due to difference of opinions among the tribal land-owners.

UNI