AIZAWL: Days after opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) and a study organisation alleged road construction by Assam on the disputed area along the Mizoram-Assam border, Mizoram home minister K Sapdanga on Thursday said that the construction has been halted.
The Mizoram home minister said that border roads to link police outposts set up by the Assam government on the border area were affected by landslides due to heavy rain in June and the roads were cleared in early July.
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It was found during inspection that the Assam government undertook new construction while clearing the roads affected by landslides.
“As soon as we received a report about the new construction, Kolasib deputy commissioner contacted his Cachar counterpart and requested him to stop the construction. The matter has been resolved,” Sapdanga told reporters.
Recently, Serlui North block of MNF alleged that the Assam government was constructing roads at Aitlang area near Vairengte town and asked the government to resolve the matter before the border talks to be held on August 9.
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Mizoram’s apex student body, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) also urged the state government to take steps to ensure that the alleged construction is halted.
Spadanga said that the matter required discussion at district administration level and it has been resolved now.
He said that Mizoram and Assam will hold border talks in Aizawl on August 9.
The Mizoram delegation would be headed by Sapdanga, while the Assam team would be led by its Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora.
Three Mizoram districts – Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit – share a 164.6 km border with Assam’s Cachar, Karmganj and Hailankandi districts.
The border dispute between the two northeastern states persisted for decades and is yet to be resolved.
The dispute took an ugly turn in July 2021 when police forces of the two states exchanged fire leading to the death of seven people, including six policemen from Assam.
More than 60 people were also injured in the violent clash that took place in the disputed area near Mizoram’s Vairengte village.
The dispute mainly stemmed from two colonial demarcations – 1875 and 1933. Mizoram claims that 509 square miles area of the inner line reserved forest, notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) 1873, falls within its territory.
Assam, on the other hand, regarded the map prepared by the Survey of India in 1933 as its constitutional boundary.
The two states have held several rounds of talks, including three ministerial level meetings since August 2021 and agreed to maintain peace along the boundary and resolve the dispute through dialogue.