'Incidents at Assam-Mizoram border unacceptable, talk only solution'

Six days after a violent clash between the police forces of Assam and Mizoram claimed seven lives and injured over 50 people Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said such incidents along the interstate border are unacceptable to people of both the states and advocated a resolution through talksAssam Chief Minister Sarma who has been charged with criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder in an FIR by Mizoram Police also spoke of keeping alive the spirit of the North East in a Twitter post The tweet comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to both Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mizoram CM Zoramthanga telephonically earlier in the day to defuse the border tension between the two Northeastern neighboursOur main focus is on keeping the spirit of NorthEast alive What happened along the AssamMizoram border is unacceptable to the people of both states Honble CM ZoramthangaCM had promised to call me post his quarantine Border disputes can only be resolved through discussion Sarma said in his tweetOur main focus is on keeping the spirit of NorthEast alive What happened along the AssamMizoram border is unacceptable to the people of both states Honble CM ZoramthangaCM had promised to call me post his quarantine Border disputes can only be resolved through discussionmdash Himanta Biswa Sarma himantabiswa August 1 2021Despite an attempt by Shah to resolve the longstanding border disuptes between Assam and its neighbours earlier this month through a meeting he chaired at least six Assam Police personnel and one civilian were killed while defending a disputed boundary with Mizoram and more than 50 people injured including the police chief of the district of CacharThe Mizoram police had lodged an FIR against Sarma and six Assam officials under various charges including charges of attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy at Vairengte police station The Assam Police has also issued summons to six officials of the Mizoram government including the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Kolasib district and ordered them to appear at Dholai police station on Monday However the Chief Secretary of Mizoram has said the states chief minister had frowned on charges levelled against his Assam counterpart and indicated these are likely to be withdrawnDespite an agreement hammered out on Wednesday night by the Union home ministry to maintain calm on the border and to allow a neutral central police force to act as peacekeepers the two states have continued to trade charges of reinforcing police pickets and of not refusing to honour the agreement which calls for pulling back forces from the borderAssamese local organisations which had soon after the clash announced an economic blockade of Mizoram have since lifted their blockade but truckers afraid of possible violence have opted to either park their vehicles near the border in Cachar districts Dholai or to circumvent the troubled boundary by taking a longer route through Tripura Assam government on Thursday had also issued an unprecedented travel advisory asking people not to travel to Mizoram and advised people from the state working or staying there to exercise utmost cautionAlso Read Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ready to join probe on Mizoram border clashTension along the border with Mizoram in Cachar and Hailakandi districts of Assam have been escalating since October 2020 with frequent incidents of burning of houses and encroachment of land The two states share a 1646km border between Assams Cachar Hailakandi and Karimganj districts and Mizorams Kolasib Mamit and Aizawl districtsBoth states have differing interpretations of their territorial border While Mizoram believes that its border lies along an inner line drawn up in 1875 to protect tribals from outside influence Assam goes by a district demarcation done in the 1930sThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever