Fresh tension erupts along Assam-Meghalaya border; villagers attack with bow and arrow, catapults

Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 27 (ANI): Fresh clashes erupted between two communities living at the Assam-Meghalaya border, where the groups were reportedly found indulging in physical attacks using bows, arrows, and catapults in Lapangap village.

The tension between Assam and Meghalaya is not new. Even though both states have partially resolved a 50-year-old border dispute in six of the 12 sectors along their 885 km boundary, the dispute between the local groups continues to disrupt the harmony of the area.

Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma met in Shillong and discussed various issues, including the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute issue.

Both Chief Ministers interacted with media persons and talked about the ongoing process to resolve the border dispute issue between both states.

“We discussed the ongoing work of regional committees, and there is a lot of progress. Recently, we could finally agree on the survey post from Hahim. There is a lot of progress happening on both sides. We discussed confidence-building measures too. But today’s discussion was unofficial and informal. But this informal meeting will be followed by a formal meeting. I would like to request that both sides of the dispute maintain peace and harmony because they must remember that we are working overtime to resolve the dispute. We want to protect the people living on both sides of the border. We will try to resolve the dispute to the satisfaction of the people of both Assam and Meghalaya,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

In March last year, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma signed a “historic” agreement for closure in six disputed sectors that were taken up for resolution in the first phase in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. (ANI)

There are a total of 12 disputed areas along the inter-state border of Assam and Meghalaya, and out of the 12 disputed areas, six issues have been resolved.

Both state governments formed regional committees to resolve the rest of the six disputed areas’ problems.