Shillong, March 5: East Khasi Hills district administration has issued an order prohibiting villagers from erecting a gate on a PWD road at Pepbah, warning that such move could potentially flare up tensions in the area amid a boundary conflict with Thadan village over the Lyntung cultivable area.
District Magistrate Rosetta Mary Kurbah issued an order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) after reports that Mawlyngad–Pepbah village had installed a gate on the PWD road.
The order notes that the PWD road is a public utility and that no private individual, village authority, or Dorbar Shnong has the legal authority to obstruct, restrict, or regulate movement on it.
It calls unauthorised gates or barriers an illegal obstruction of public passage that could escalate tensions, disrupt public movement and create a law‑and‑order situation.
“I… do hereby prohibit erection of a gate at Mawlyngad Pepbah village along the PWD road at Pepbah road and allow free movement of the general public of both the villages,” the order states.
