SHILLONG, JUL 13: The Khasi Students’ Union has threatened to launch fresh protests, including “extreme measures”, if the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) goes ahead with recruitment without addressing its demands on tribal reservation and male-female staff ratio.

KSU general secretary Reuben Najiar said on Monday that the union has submitted a reminder reminding the NEIGRIHMS Director of an agreement reached on May 5, 2025, after a five-day sit-in demonstration last year.

“After the meeting led by former cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh and officials from NEIGRIHMS, the state government… we have come to a conclusion that NEIGRIHMS will not go ahead with the recruitment until and unless these issues be finally resolved,” Najiar said.

He alleged that despite assurances to resolve the matter within a month and forward it to the ministry, “it has been more than a year now, no progress has been made.”

KSU said it does not want to stall recruitment given the rising patient load, but accused the government of “false promises.”

“As a union, we do not want to halt the recruitment process in NEIGRIHMS because we understand that with the growing numbers of patients… there is also a need for more nurses,” Najiar said.

The union claimed it has received information that the NEIGRIHMS Director will take the recruitment proposal to the governing council without incorporating KSU’s suggestions.

“If they go ahead with the recruitment as it is… we will see all the male nurses coming to NEIGRIHMS, all the jobs meant for tribals are being taken by people coming from outside the state,” he said.

In its letter to the Director, KSU stated it will not allow the governing council meeting until the issues are settled.

“If NEIGRIHMS does not honour the agreement that has been made on May 5, from the union we will again start the agitation… this time around it is not going to be only a sit-in-protest but we are going to take extreme measures as well,” Najiar warned.