Ropeway row: JAC warns it will seek Paul Lyngdoh's resignation

Protesters against the Shillong Peak ropeway say they will demand Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh's resignation if the government does not move the project away from Lum Shyllong. Their indefinite sit-in in Shillong entered its third day on Sunday, November 8.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) is leading the protest near the U Kiang Nangbah statue opposite Civil Hospital. It says it will not end the sit-in until the government scraps the ropeway or shifts it elsewhere, The Shillong Times reported.

Warning to the Tourism Minister

"The government must relocate the Shillong Ropeway Project from Lum Shyllong, or it will force us to demand that the Tourism Minister step down," JAC executive member Anita Kharmawphlang said on Saturday.

She said women aged 60 to 80 had joined the protest, some against their families' wishes. She warned that the government would be responsible if anything happened to the elderly protesters.

Another member, Venitia Mawlong, criticised Lyngdoh's remarks about the protesting women. She asked why a former KSU leader who once led people's movements was now on the other side. Mawlong said the JAC would not go to the Meghalaya High Court because a court case would take the struggle away from the people.

More groups join

The protest is drawing wider support. Women from the Hynniewtrep Jail Road Street Vendors Association, led by president Clarissa Jordana Sohtun, joined the sit-in on Saturday. They said cutting down the forest could lead to water shortages.

A Khasi Students' Union (KSU) delegation led by general secretary Reuben Najiar visited the protesters on Sunday. KSU Laban Circle president Jason C Laloo said it was distressing to see mothers on the streets. He also raised concern about elderly women spending nights at the protest site as winter sets in.

VPP leader Danny Langstieh, who lives in the project area, also attended. He said he came as an affected resident, not as a party leader.

Green group's concerns

Green-Tech Foundation (GTF) chairman H Bansiewdor Nonglang said the project could open Lum Shyllong to commercial use. He said project documents show restaurants and food courts at the two terminals, beyond the planned felling of 544 trees. He said women from Laban and Lawsohtun had approached the foundation between May and July, and that it joined the JAC after examining the site.

The government's position

The government says the project is environmentally safe and that the ropeway alignment is 3.15 km from water sources. It says a lease signed about four years ago ties the project to its present site, and that the ropeway will bring tourism and jobs. The ropeway is planned to link Madan Laban with the viewpoint near Shillong Peak.

The JAC began its sit-in on November 6. The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council had earlier sealed the project site, and the state later reopened it with police help. NEInsider will update this story as the protest continues.