Massive protests in East Jaintia Hills against illegal coke factories. Will the Govt meet the Court deadline?

People came out in large numbers on Thursday demanding immediate closure of the illegal coke factories in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills and asked the state government to act fast on this matter. Protesters accused the government of being lax and held the government responsible for the mushrooming of the illegal coke factories which are a huge health hazard and is also destroying the environment.

People from at least 22 villages of Elaka Sutnga took to the streets demanding the closure of the 14 coke factories operating in the area. They said that these factories should be shut permanently even if they have approvals from the government.

This is the third time that such a rally has been organised to raise their voices and make their concerns about the harmful coke factories heard. It is the protests by the people that led to 34 coke factories being shut in the area.

The Environment Co-ordination (ECC) Committee, Elaka Sutnga has once again highlighted that if the coke factories are not shut the locals of the area will face major health issues. “These factories emit foul smell, black smoke that pollutes the air. It has also affected vegetation and water bodies,” the protesting locals said.

“Let us breath clean air,” said a young lady joining the protests.

ECC secretary, Pynbait Sutnga informed that all the 14 factories have obtained environmental clearance from the state government. The protesters condemned the state government, the Meghalaya State Control Board and also the JHADC for issuing such clearance to these factories.

It may be mentioned that 48 coke factories have been setup in Sutnga Elaka. However, 34 of them have been shut down and the remaining 14 are still operational.

The protests come in the backdrop of the Meghalaya High court setting the deadline of December 22 to come up with an action plan against all coke factories.

ECC’s legal adviser Reading War said that the Meghalaya High Court had rapped the state government and raised questions about the flourishing of the illegal coke factories.

“If the state government fails to act within the Court’s deadline, we will take extreme course of action”, War said.

Speaking at the gathering, the East Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner, Abhilash Baranwal assured that action will be taken to protect the health and livelihood of the people. “Since the matter is subjudiced, I cannot comment much on the issue so let’s have confidence in the court of law and wait till December 22”, the DC said.