The Dawki land port, which has been set up over 23 acres of land at a cost of Rs 83.38 crore, will serve as a vital trade and transportation hub between India and Bangladesh…reports Asian Lite News
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, on Thursday inaugurated a land port at Dawki in Meghalaya along the Bangladesh border to boost trade and tourism between the two neighbouring countries.
The Dawki land port, which is located in the West Jaintia Hills district, is an important project of the Central government aimed at promoting trade, commerce and tourism between India and Bangladesh.
The corresponding land port in Bangladesh is Tamabil, located in Sylhet district.
The Dawki land port, which has been set up over 23 acres of land at a cost of Rs 83.38 crore, will serve as a vital trade and transportation hub between India and Bangladesh, facilitating the movement of goods, people, and vehicles from across the border.
Addressing the inaugural function, Rai said that the land port has been made keeping in mind the requirements of the two neighbouring countries, adding that the main aim is to bring together all the agencies and stakeholders under a single roof.
The inaugural function was also attended by Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma, Chairman of Land Port Authority of Bangladesh Mohd Alamgir, and other senior officials of the Meghalaya government.
Officials in Shillong said that while the “Border Haat” at Balat in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya was recently reopened, the “Border Haat” at Kalaichar in South West Garo Hills district is yet to re-open…reports Asian Lite News
The Tripura and Meghalaya governments have urged both India and Bangladesh to reopen the “Border Haats” (markets) to promote the local business and livelihood of the people living on either side of the border.
The four “Border Haats”, two each in Tripura and Meghalaya, have remained closed since March 2020 after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown, causing “immense loss” to the people living in the bordering villages.
Officials of the Tripura Industries and Commerce Department said that the district administration officials of the state’s Sepahijala and South Tripura districts have on a number of occasions approached their Bangladesh counterparts to reopen the “Border Haats” as the Covid-19 induced situation has been largely tamed.
“Bangladesh district officials said that the concerned government ministries in Dhaka were yet to allow them to reopen the markets,” officials told.
In Meghalaya, the East Khasi Hills and South West Garo Hills district officials also approached their counterparts in Bangladesh to reopen the “Border Haats”.
Officials in Shillong said that while the “Border Haat” at Balat in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya was recently reopened, the “Border Haat” at Kalaichar in South West Garo Hills district is yet to re-open.
Jaipur-based think tank CUTS International, which has done several studies on the border trade, had also recommended to the Indian government to resume these border markets maintaining necessary precautions against Covid-19, including social distancing as these markets boost the economy, cement ties between the people of the two countries and also check illegal trade.
CUTS International Executive Director Bipul Chatterjee said that reopening of the “Border Haat” would help local stakeholders on both sides of the border to regain their livelihood and can act as a significant contributor to the post-Covid recovery of the local economy in these border areas.
Citing the local haat management committee’s records, Chatterjee told IANS that just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the combined annual trade value of Balat and Kalaichar “Border Haats” was nearly Rs 546 million and that in Kamalasagar (Sepahijala district) and Srinagar (South Tripura district) the trade in “Border Haats” in Tripura was Rs 148 million per year.
“That’s huge for these local economies and they have significant multiplier effects as that money is usually circulated among the local communities,” he pointed out.
Over the last decade, 10 “Border Haats” were established or approved along the India-Bangladesh border at Tripura and Meghalaya. Out of them, six are in Meghalaya, and four in Tripura.
HSPDP President K.P. Pangniang told the media that after bifurcation of Meghalaya, one of the states would be for the Garos and the other for the Khasi-Jaintia communities…reports Asian Lite News.
Nearly 50 years after it was carved out of Assam as a full-fledged state in 1972, the demand to further bifurcate Meghlaya on ethnic lines has surfaced with two local parties forming a coordination committee for this purpose, ahead of the bye-elections to three Assembly seats on October 30.
The Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) – which is a part of the ruling National People’s Party-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, and the Garo Hills State Movement Committee (GHSMC) have formed the committee to intensify their claim for the proposed Khasi-Jaintia and Garoland states.
The demand for creation of Garoland also comprising western Assam’s four districts — Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri and Kokrajhar — inhabited by the matrilineal Garo community once become a major issue in the northeast region when the Bodoland statehood movement was its peak.
The Bodoland issue was more or less resolved after the Bodoland Territorial Region accord was signed in January 2020 and 1,615 extremists along with their arms and ammunition surrendered to the government.
HSPDP President K.P. Pangniang told the media that after bifurcation of Meghalaya, one of the states would be for the Garos and the other for the Khasi-Jaintia communities.
“Demarcation of the boundaries clearly be done to create a separate state for the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo people so that no problem emerges in future similar to the existing inter-state problem between Assam and Meghalaya,” he said, adding that the coordination committee would identify and demarcate the areas that would fall in the two proposed states.
The GHSMC, a conglomerate of seven Garo organisations including regional party Garo National Council, along with the HSPDP, have also decided to launch a joint movement to intensify their demand for bifurcation of Meghalaya.
Pangniang said that they would release booklets in local languages to explain their demand for the creation of a separate state for the Khasi-Jaintias.
The GHSMC had in December 2018 raised the demand for a separate Garoland state after several extremist outfits also voiced for the similar demand. Several former militant leaders are also part of this renewed movement.
The Garo Hills region, comprising five of Meghalaya’s 11 districts and 24 out of 60 Assembly seats, is spread across 10,102 square km. As per the 2011 Census, this region had 13.94 lakh people compared to the 22.44 lakh spread across the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region covering 15,546 square km.
In 2014, the Meghalaya Assembly had rejected demand for the creation of a separate Garoland state in the western part of the state.
By-elections will be held on October 30 in three assembly seats — Mawryngkneng and Mawphlang in the East Khasi Hills, and Rajabala in the West Garo Hills district.
It was Pope Francis who cemented the church’s commitment to ecological sustainability with his landmark papal document ‘Laudato Si’ published in May 2015…reports Asian Lite News.
After initiating a grassroots-level movement with Climate Change Chapaul — which involved roping in traditional leaders of Meghalaya to spread the awareness of climate change — Meghalaya is starting to use another social innovation to drive a change in people’s behaviour and attitude towards climate change.
A brainchild of Meghalaya Forests and Environment Minister James K. Sangma, interaction with leaders from eight faith-based and religious organisations aims to promote climate change messages in their followers and help build a bottom-up movement to fortify the fight against climate change in the state.
Quashing the age-old myth that religion and science don’t get along, Meghalaya believes that religions can play an influential role in climate change negotiations and help build a strong public consensus in spurring the global mass climate action movement.
Laitmawsiang landscape, wrapped in fog. Meghalaya is mountainous, and it is the rainiest state of India. The word Meghalaya means, “abode of the clouds”. (Wikipedia)
The meeting was attended by Swami Hitakamananda, Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Shillong; Pastor T.T. Diengdoh of Khasi Jaintia Presbyterian Synod Sepngi (KJPSS); Father Richard Majaw, In-charge of the Education Commission and Vicar General, Archdiocese of Shillong; Kamaljeet Singh, General Secretary of the Shri Guru Singh Sabha Meghalaya; Jb Noor Nongrum, Assistant General Secretary of The Shillong Muslim Union; Pastor Elizer Sangma of Shillong Baptist Church; Rothel Khongsit, President, Seng Khasi Khatarshnong (Khasi Traditional Faith Leader); and Pema Dhondup, Tibetan Settlement Officer, Meghalaya.
Several innovative ideas were discussed from curating an eco-ministry programme by religious institutions in collaboration with state governments to adoption of eco-efficiencies to spread the message of conservation and sustainable lifestyles.
It is an established fact that faith-based organisations have been playing a key role in accelerating climate dialogues across the world ever since the Vatican and particularly, Pope Francis, kicked off a religious movement towards ecology and environment science and dedicated much of his papacy dedicated to teaching about care for the planet and raising the priority of climate change on the world agenda.
It was Pope Francis who cemented the church’s commitment to ecological sustainability with his landmark papal document ‘Laudato Si’ published in May 2015.
Pope Francis (Wikipedia)
In his document “On care for our common home”, Pope Francis called for a “bold cultural revolution” on multiple levels: Spiritual, theological, scientific and practical.
Meghalaya’s population consists of 70 per cent Christians and followers of indigenous Khasi faiths followed by Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Tibetans. Faith can therefore play an influential role in dictating social and behavioural conventions of the masses.
On the occasion, James K. Sangma said, “In taking the faith-based approach, I want the scientific and rational thought to borrow hope and optimism that religions around the world offer and wants to erase the usual disdain of science towards religions. Faith groups have a history of speaking out on behalf of the oppressed and powerless; the environment is no different.”
The minister further stated that in Meghalaya, the understanding of environment protection is rooted in the Khasi, Garo and Jaintia communities which is based on traditional values and wisdom passed on through the ages.
The living testament of this are the sacred groves and traditional reserve forests in which till now, such valued practices is what the community leadership holds on to.
Besides, the living root bridges are another story that is very telling of the people’s respect for nature. These root bridges take hundreds of years to form, therefore, the original builder knows that he would not see the full formation of the bridge but he does it anyway because he knows it is about community-living and for the future of his people. Such green concepts are intertwined with the values that come along with traditional faith or faiths that have arrived in the hills.
Sangma said he was inspired by the burgeoning global religious movement against climate change.
Forty Roman Catholic groups in countries including Australia, South Africa and the US have said that they are shunning investments in fossil fuels and switching to greener energy.
Some 1,200 institutions across the world have already committed to divest from fossil-fuel companies, totalling $14.5 trillion. One-third of these are faith-based organisations.
In 2020, faith leaders from Scotland jointly played a role in pushing for the government’s adoption of a new climate change bill and their global counterparts delivered a series of recommendations to the G-20.
Back home, organisations like EcoSikh helps cities in India adopt environmentally friendly pilgrimages. The Bhumi Project, a Hindu organisation, develops long-term sustainable plans for environmental care and trains young people to become climate leaders.
Green Muslims connect volunteers to local climate action initiatives. A similar eco ministry programme in Kerala that has embedded ecology and climate change in its constitution is working on spreading awareness about climate change, sustainability, regenerative agricultural practices and urging people to not destroy wildlife or forests. It has won the UNESCO prize for sustainability.
An interesting study by UNEP also pointed out that faith-based organisations control 8 per cent of the Earth’s habitable land, 5 per cent of commercial forests and 10 per cent of financial institutions and therefore, people of faith can be great allies in stalling the impending reality of climate change for the state.
A grassroot ‘mini climate change conference’ was held with 18 villages of a province called Ri-Bhoi – known for facing the ravages of fast approaching climate change reality….reports Asian Lite News
As climate change morphs into a real time threat, Meghalaya has turned to invoking its traditional leaders and institutions by turning them into evangelists and climate actors and crusaders.
Meghalaya Forest Minister James Sangma has decided to take it upon himself to collect ecological knowledge and climate wisdom from the ancestral conceptions and indigenous tribal leaders of traditional institutions to create awareness and strategy of climate change adaptation and mitigation for the state.
A grassroot ‘mini climate change conference’ was held with 18 villages of a province called Ri-Bhoi – known for facing the ravages of fast approaching climate change reality.
Apart from the formal government systems (the state legislature and judiciary) as well as Autonomous District Councils that were carved to allot greater autonomy to tribal communities in Meghalaya, the state’s village level traditional institutions called Dorbar in Khasi and Jaintia Hills and Nokma in Garo Hills are village level authorities that administer at the local levels in the matter of quotidian activities like settlement of local disputes, management of natural resources and provision of basic services.
In that sense, Meghalaya is a strong decentralised society where these Dorbars and Nokmas organise the community and social life for their citizens and hold a great degree of historical legitimacy amongst people.
Infact, Meghalaya was exempted from the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act which allows for the devolution of governance through the decentralised Panchayati Raj system because of its strong grassroot and community governance structure.
One of the global learnings emerging from Covid response all across the world is a new form of ‘decentralised’ governance where the state works in alliance with traditional and grassroots institutions and leaders.
This bottom up approach is critical for social mobilisation and tackling the 21st century challenges like climate change.
Several complex issues such as climate change, diminishing rain patterns, green livelihoods were discussed with indigenous examples of several localised climate legislations – emerging in the conversation. In the idea exchange, there were conversations about green energy and livelihoods, agroforestry models and several preservation models that could incentivise the villagers and junta to create a new template of climate action economy.
After having piloted a successful project using multi strains of indigenous Algae or phyco-remediation to clean up the toxic industrial waste of one of its rivers, the Forest Minister has launched an open mandate to embrace local ecological knowledge and build nature based solutions.
Sacred Groves in Meghalaya, which are community based sacred forests, have been largely instrumental in community led forest management practices and large scale preservation. There were more green livelihood options such as algae and carbon farming, agro-forestry models and wellness tourism using folk medicine – with abundance of high value indigenous wellness knowledge systems were also discussed with the grassroots representatives.
Forest management and climate change adaptation strategy should integrate socio-cultural and ecological phenomenons and should be aimed to sustain human needs and maintain the ecosystem integrity.
It has also been emphasised to include climate change and conservation as a part of school along with several green interventions with the headmen for turning the province into a ‘climate action zone’.
The grassroot conference was one of the first interventions on the part of the government to start collecting indigenous knowledge, community engagement and empower decentralised governance to bolster its fight against climate change.
(The writer is Minister for Power, Environment and Forests, Meghalaya)
