GUWAHATI: As the poll bugle has blown for the Meghalaya assembly elections, there have been heightened political activities in the hill state, known as the abode of clouds.
Amidst the election hullabaloo, a nondescript village, Jirang, that lies along the Assam-Meghalaya inter-state border, in Ri Bhoi district of the state, is at the centre of attention.
Not too far from Assam capital Guwahati, the issues of the otherwise underdeveloped village are varied and complex.
However, a youth, who has just returned from Singapore, giving up his comfortable life, has made up his mind to contest the upcoming Meghalaya assembly elections and make sure that the village sees a new horizon of development.
Adrian L Chyne Mylliem, a degree holder in psychology from Raffles College in Singapore, and president of the Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress, is the only nominated candidate for Congress from the Jirang constituency.
The Meghalaya Congress is giving a lot of emphasis on the new generation leaders, with 29-year-old Adrian being one of them, who is taking up the issues of the people of the disputed border village.
“Jirang is a constituency that is lacking in many areas pertaining to the quality of life of the people. Another factor that affects the livelihood of the people in Jirang is its sharing a border with Assam. Time and time again, it was seen that there were issues caused with people in the border clashing with the police of Assam. The people living in the border areas feel there is no sense of security or safety for them. The MOU signed between the government of Meghalaya and Assam has been done hastily and not taken the public’s opinions into consideration,” Adrian told Northeast Now.
“Many areas that are not disputed have been declared as such by the government. The people living in those areas are at a loss and a sense of anxiousness as they feel that their land is no longer theirs. The farmers are also plagued by opportunists who take advantage of them during the farming seasons. There is no method or system by which they get their rightfully hard-earned money. They are at the whims of the businessmen who take advantage of them and they sometimes sell their goods off at a loss. However, they are limited to farming wheat and do not go for alternative crops of farming which might prove to be more profitable to them and also favourable towards the soil and environment as a whole. There is also the lack of favourable employment for the youths in G.S Road. Areas like Byrnihat and others along that line see that there are many industries or factories cropping up. However, the local population is not benefitting from that,” he added.
Adrian has now pledged that he would ensure that all these problems are solved if at all he is voted to power.
He also says that even if he loses the elections, he won’t go back to Singapore, rather would continue his efforts to keep working for the betterment of the people of his constituency.
During the Mukul Sangma-led Congress coalition government in Meghalaya, Adrian’s father Lamboklang Mylliem was an MLA from the Jirang constituency.
Lamboklang was the MLA till 2018 when he lost to Sosthenes Sohtun of NPP.
So this time around, with the Congress putting its all weight behind a young, educated and dynamic leader, the political scenario is headed for an interesting finish in the bordering constituency.