Construct road or hand us over to Bangladesh: Meghalaya villagers to Govt

Guwahati: Meghalaya locals hailing from the edge of India-Bangladesh international border have threatened to give away their four villages and its population to Bangladesh if the government is not willing to construct better road connectivity in the region.

The locals of Hingaria, Huroi, Lahalein, and Lejri villages have been moving from pillar to post to draw the attention of those in power both at New Delhi and Shillong to construct the Rymbai- Bataw-Borkhat-Sonapur Road for many years but their pleas have always fallen into deaf ears. Peeved at the government's apathy, the villagers have now said that if the road is not constructed soon, they would prefer to be with Bangladesh.

It has been reported that the deplorable condition of the road has largely affected the livelihood of the villagers residing at the edge of the Indo-Bangladesh border, whose lives are seen to be under threat due to the lack of connectivity. The absence of a proper road, or mobile connectivity, or proper medical facilities has crippled the lives of more than 5,000 people residing in these border area villages.

The residents of the four villages falling under the jurisdiction of East Jaintia Hills district claim that they have to rely on Bangladesh for their survival because of the negligence and ignorance on the parts of governments regarding the border connectivity issues. 

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