SHILLONG — The proposed Facilitation Centre at Umling remains a point of concern for the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), with the union saying Wednesday’s meeting with the Meghalaya government failed to address several of its main demands.
Former KSU general secretary Donald V. Thabah, who attended the meeting, said the Tourism Department presented the proposed arrangement, including an expansion of the earmarked space from around 1,000 square metres to nearly 4,000 square metres.
But the larger area has not settled the union’s concerns. Thabah said the KSU wants the facility to serve everyone entering Meghalaya, not just tourists, including labourers, students, government employees and business travellers.
“The meeting was not satisfactory because many of our concerns could not be addressed in the absence of officials from the other departments,” Thabah said.
The union wants departments such as Education and Health to have dedicated facilities at the centre, alongside Tourism and Home-related functions. Thabah said relying mainly on online processing would also leave people needing offline assistance waiting in queues. He said the Tourism Department had made clear that it could not speak for other departments, which the KSU viewed as a major gap in the discussion.
The union also sought clarity on the proposed centre at Ratacherra. Thabah said officials informed them that land acquisition had reached about 50%, but questions remained over the size of the facility and whether it would operate as an entry-and-exit facilitation centre.
“We want the discussions to involve all the departments concerned, instead of discussing these issues separately with individual departments,” Thabah said.
The KSU also wants the facilitation-centre discussions considered alongside implementation of the principal provisions of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA).
Thabah said the union remains willing to engage with the government, including on Labour Department-related issues, but cannot decide its next step until its leaders currently in custody are consulted before any response to another government invitation.
