SHILLONG : Former Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) general secretary Donald V Thabah on Wednesday said the meeting convened by the Commissioner and Secretary in-charge of Tourism to discuss the proposed facilitation centre at Umling in Ri Bhoi district was not fruitful, as only officials from the Tourism Department attended.
Thabah said the KSU had been invited to discuss the proposed facilitation centre, located at one of the main entry points into Meghalaya. However, he said the meeting did not include representatives from other departments that would be involved in its implementation.
According to Thabah, the Tourism Department presented its plans and informed the KSU that the area earmarked for the facilitation centre had been increased following the union’s earlier objection.
He said the space initially proposed was around 1,000 square feet, but the Tourism Department has now proposed increasing it to 4,000 square feet.
The KSU had earlier objected that the proposed space was too small, with a substantial portion of the area being occupied by a food court.
However, Thabah said the KSU could not yet say whether it was satisfied with the revised plan, as its leaders currently in jail would first have to be consulted.
“We cannot give 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 4,000 is enough or we require more,” he said.
KSU seeks counters for multiple departments
Thabah said the proposed facilitation centre should not cater only to tourists, pointing out that people entering Meghalaya include labourers, students, government officials and others travelling for business and other purposes.
He said only four rooms have so far been earmarked — two for Tourism, one for infiltration-related matters and one for the Home Department.
According to Thabah, this arrangement could result in long queues and would not adequately address the needs of different categories of people entering the state.
“We feel there should be counters dedicated to labour, health, education and other departments also,” he said.
While acknowledging that some services could be accessed online, Thabah said not everyone entering the state would necessarily be able to use online facilities.
He added that Tourism officials themselves had informed the KSU that they could not speak on behalf of other departments.
“This meeting was not fruitful, we are not satisfied because only officials from Tourism were there,” Thabah said.
Uncertainty over Rattachera facilitation centre
On the proposed facilitation centre at Rattachera, Thabah said the Tourism Department informed them that around 50% of the land acquisition process had been completed.
However, he said the meeting did not provide clarity on the actual area proposed for the facilitation centre or whether Rattachera would eventually function as an entry and exit point.
KSU wants comprehensive meeting on MRSSA
Thabah said the government should convene a comprehensive meeting involving representatives from all relevant departments to discuss the implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) and its facilitation centres.
“If the government engages us for talks, we want to talk about MRSSA. Today we talked with Tourism Department and tomorrow they will talk with Labour Department. We feel all officials from all departments should be there,” he said.
He said the KSU’s objective in attending the meeting was to discuss the implementation of the principal Act and the proposed MRSSA facilitation centres.
“The government should initiate a better way to engage us on facilitation centres,” Thabah said.