The functioning of government offices in Meghalaya was hit today due to picketing by employees who demanded implementation of the 140-year-old Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act to curb the entry of outsiders to the state.
The agitation was sponsored by 13 pro-Inner Line Permit groups, official sources said.
The police said no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the state. Security was tightened.
The sponsors of the agitation had recently intensified the anti-government protest demanding imposition of the ILP which is in force in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.
The state government argued that there was no need to impose the ILP to keep a check on the influx of people engaged in mining and construction work in the state which, it said, could be taken care of by enforcing the Tenancy Act.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said his government had outlined a more "comprehensive, integrated and institutionalised" mechanism to check the influx.
"The proposed Tenancy Bill has been drafted and its implementation will regulate the stay of outsiders, especially the 'floating population' in the state," the chief minister said recently.
