SHILLONG: The Deputy Chief Minister of Meghalaya, who also represents the Pynursla constituency as its Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Prestone Tynsong, has assured that he will take up and apprise the Government of India regarding the grievances of the residents of Lyngkhong village.
The villagers are currently protesting against the ongoing border fencing being constructed 150 yards away from the zero line along the India-Bangladesh international border.
Responding to the opposition from the residents of Lyngkhong who are demanding that the fencing be erected directly from the zero line, Tynsong clarified that the villagers are not fundamentally opposed to the border fencing itself.
He acknowledged that securing the international border between India and Bangladesh is highly essential. However, he pointed out that the current alignment of the border fencing poses a major problem for several villages, including Lyngkhong and others under Raid Nongsken.
Due to the current execution of the project, parts of these villages risk being left completely outside the fence, and substantial portions of their agricultural lands—which the locals have depended on for generations—will also fall outside the secured perimeter.
To prevent these ancestral lands and villages from being wasted or cut off, the Deputy Chief Minister stated that the state government will actively engage with the Government of India to push for the fencing to be constructed closer to the zero line, promising that they will take serious initiatives to bring this matter to the central government’s attention.
This assurance follows a public protest staged by the residents of Lyngkhong village, located under the East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya, on June 7. During the agitation, the residents firmly demanded that the border fencing must be constructed right from the zero line instead of stretching deep into Indian territory.
The villagers also submitted a memorandum to the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of the Pynursla Civil Sub-Division, urgently requesting the concerned authorities to immediately halt the ongoing fencing work until all these pressing grievances and complications are fully resolved.
Lyngkhong is one of the few border villages where residential houses are situated just a few meters away from the inhabited areas of Bangladesh.
However, according to existing international guidelines, border fencing is typically constructed not less than 150 yards away from the zero line.
This specific regulation has sparked deep anxiety among the local residents, who fear that the current alignment will ultimately leave their entire village completely outside the fenced boundary, effectively isolating and segregating their village from the rest of India.
