SHILLONG : Tension prevailed outside the Meghalaya Secretariat on Thursday after police blocked members of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) opposing the Shillong Ropeway Project from staging a sit-in at the main entrance and seized a mattress brought by the protesters.

The JAC had marched from the statue of U Kiang Nangbah to the Secretariat, demanding that the government scrap the Shillong Ropeway Project or relocate it to another site.

On reaching the Secretariat, the protesters attempted to cross the barricades placed opposite the main gate to stage a sit-in. However, police pushed them back and seized the mattress, triggering a tense face-off between the protesters and security personnel.

The confrontation came a day after the JAC rejected a proposal by the South Shillong Advisory Committee to constitute an independent expert committee to examine the environmental impact of the ropeway project.

The proposal was discussed during a meeting chaired by Cabinet Minister and South Shillong MLA Sanbor Shullai at the State Convention Hall on Wednesday.

Women protesters were at the forefront of Thursday’s march, carrying placards demanding the immediate resignation of seven Rangbah Shnongs and the revocation of the land lease agreement signed with the Tourism Department.

The protesters highlighted concerns over the protection of the catchment area and water sources of Lum Shyllong, arguing that tourism development should not come at the cost of the people’s access to water.

Some of the messages displayed on the placards included, “Tourism can go elsewhere, but the catchment cannot”, “We need water from Lum Shyllong” and “Development without wisdom is destruction with a budget”.

The JAC maintained that its agitation would be intensified until the government agrees to scrap the Shillong Ropeway Project and relocate it elsewhere.