Boundary dispute hots up

Guwahati, July 12 (UNI) Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram have upped the ante against Asom over boundary.

These three Northeastern states had accused Asom of ''exploiting'' its geographical advantage with skirmishes being reported from all the state borders more often than not.

''There are disputes and as per our official records 25,642 hectare have been occupied by all the four surrounding states.

Nagaland is occupying 19,419 hectare, Arunachal 5,756 hectare and Meghalaya 65 hectare,'' said Asom Revenue Minister Bhumidhar Burman.

''But none of the three states is willing to listen to the agreement and each of them believe that Assamese are playing the big brother role and occupying their land,'' he stated.

In fact the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) last month organised a rally in Aizawl to protest the alleged encroachment into Mizoram territory by Asom.

But the most violent of all problems was in Nagaland, where the maximum area remained disputed. Where Nagaland was of firm belief that historically those lands belonged to them, while Asom cited the recent post-British era revenue date.

This is destabilising the border areas and even after three boundary commissions and presence of neutral forces, the boundary skirmishes were on till last night.

Although one of the five organisations - the All Asom Students Union(AASU) - which was imposing economic blockade on Nagaland, had eased off their stand, the virtual blockade was still on and the district administration was now fearing a massive backlash from the Nagas, facing acute food scarcity.

Further, there were problems also in Arunachal Pradesh, where residents of Shantipur in Dibang Valley opened fire from country-made guns when officials of the Dibang and Tinsukia administration were discussing ways to defuse tension along the border.

Trouble began when Superintendent of Police of Lower Dibang valley district Issac Pertin fired in the air from his pistol to disperse the villagers from Asom.

SDO civil Arup Arandhara was manhandled when he tried to step in.

Arandhara was leading the Asom delegation to the meeting at Jawaharlal Nehru Hindi School in Shantipur. Mr Pertin was part of the Arunachal Pradesh team, led by Deputy Commissioner P Hosai.

He later informed that situation was tense but violence was reported..

Meanwhile, in Mizoram, anti-Asom rally, called ''Operation Joshua'' was organised following the construction of a shed near the present boundary between Mizoram and Asom on National Highway 54.

Mizoram police had demolished the shed the same evening, fearing bigger trouble between the two states.

Mr P C Laltlansanga, president of the MZP, said it was time the Mizos realised that it had lost huge territory because of alleged encroachment by Asom.

In the wake Mizo farmers' threat to ''encroach'' Asom land, Dispur had decided to set up at least two border police outposts and five watch towers along the 119-km-long Asom-Mizoram interstate border, official sources said here.

Hailakandi Deputy Commissioner Shankar Prasad Kakoti Bora said the Asom government was concerned following All Mizo Farmers' Union's threat to use arms to encroach Asom land in Barak Valley.

This had forced the Asom government to strengthen security arrangements and tighten vigil along the interstate border.

Mr Bora along with Hailakandi SP Anand Mohan Tiwari and other police and CRPF officials recently visited the interstate border to take stock of the situation.

Mizo Farmers' Union president R Lalduhawma recently claimed that Mizoram's first Chief Minister Ch Chhunga owned a lot of farmland in Bhaicherra near Bhairavi in Mizoram and they had vowed to ensure that farm work undertaken by Chhunga's son was completed despite Asom police stopped the same.

UNI