Situation warlike, Nagaland clamps curfew, AASU firm on 'border ch

Mariani, Assam-Nagaland border, Aug 7 (UNI) Ahead of the much-hyped 'border march', called by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) at Upper Assam's Jorhat district tomorrow, an 'unofficial' curfew was clamped by the village heads of Nagaland along the proposed road of the agitational programme.

Sources in the Mukokchung Deputy Commissioner's office told UNI that the village heads and organizations of the Chirang Valley region of Alongtaki constituency in the district met on Sunday evening and decided to clamp indefinite 'curfew' in the area extending from the Tsutapala checkpost, around eight km from here, to Longtho Valley, comprising over 22 Naga villages.

With the curfew coming into force from 1700 hours last evening, trucks carrying essentials were stranded near the Tsutapala Gate as the Naga Police personnel refused to allow anyone beyond the place.

Refusing to budge, AASU joint secretary Nilutfar Rehman, who visited the areas today, said the student body would go ahead with the march come what may.

'' There's no question of backtracking. It is the duty of the administration to arrange the security as we are moving in our own territory, '' he said adding around 2,000 activists from the district and nearby areas are expected to take part in the march to the New Chuntia border outpost from here.

The heat on the Jorhat district administration had mounted after reported threats from underground outfits of Nagaland, especially the NSCN(IM) to the programme.

Assam claimed that the actual constitutional boundary of the state extended to the New Chuntia border outpost even as Nagaland police had set up a permanent camp 17 km inside it and miscreants encroaching much beyond that.

The New Chuntia BoP is in the Longtho Valley area, to which Assam's constitutional boundary extends, according to government records.

According to records, suspected Naga miscreants have encroached over 25,000 hectare of land in the three reserve forests - Dessoi, Dessoi Valley and Tiru Hills - adjacent to this town of Jorhat district.

In the neighbouring Sivasagar district, suspected miscreants from Nagaland last month attacked three villages, setting ablaze dozens of houses, killing three persons and slaughtering cattle.

Meanwhile, official sources in Nagaland said the administration would not allow anyone without inner line permits to cross the Tsutapala gate.

The Naga Hoho today organized a public meeting at Mukokchung to review the situation in the wake of the AASU's proposed programme.

While endorsing an earlier adopted proposal of maintaining status quo in the disputed areas, the meeting disapproved 'any third party interference in the boundary dispute.' The meeting also regretted that 'the AASU has embarked on warpath under the influence of a third force'.

UNI