As the November 21 deadline approaches, landowners protesting against the District Youth Resources and Sports (YRS) office in Mokokchung are set to decide whether to escalate their protest, pending the outcome of an important meeting convened by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Mokokchung.
The DC has scheduled a meeting with the District Sports Officer, the Chairman of the Ungma Village Council, and the protesting landowners on November 21, 2024, at 10:30 AM in the DC Conference Room to address the ongoing shutdown of the YRS office by the landowners.
Speaking to MT, one of the landowners stressed that the decision to intensify or lift the protest will depend entirely on the results of this meeting.
The landowners had previously warned that, should their demands not be met, they would expand their shutdown to include the ‘entire sports complex and its surrounding area’, as mentioned in their 1993 agreement. This includes the Imkongmeren Sports Complex, the Badminton Stadium, the TT Stadium, the gym, the basketball court, the multipurpose hall, as well as the P Shilu Ao Park and the Education Office—facilities that fall within the sports complex’s landowners jurisdiction.
They have called on the various associations operating in these facilities to vacate their offices and remove their equipment in preparation for a potential broader shutdown. Furthermore, the landowners have made it clear that no events will be allowed to take place within these areas once their protest escalates.
The protest stems from the appointment of a non-landowner to a Grade IV position at the YRS office in Mokokchung, a decision the landowners claim is a breach of a 1993 agreement between them and the state government.