Ao Senden urges Nagaland government to act on encroachment by Assam police

DIMAPUR — The Ao Senden has appealed to the state government to take immediate action against the construction of an Assam Police Commando Battalion camp at Septsuyong Lu, Kangtsung Village in Mokokchung district.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister of Nagaland, Ao Senden highlighted that the land in question has been traditionally owned by Kangtsung village for generations. While several organisations, including the Ao Senden, have apprised the Deputy Commissioner of Mokokchung, the Chief Minister, and the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Tuli of the encroachment, “we are yet to hear or see any action taken from either your Hon’ble authority, the Deputy Commissioner, Mokokchung, or Additional Deputy Commissioner, Tuli, till date,” it said.

The Ao Senden further pointed to a recent report in the Times of India, which stated that the forest advisory committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has granted in-principle approval for the diversion of 28 hectares of the Geleky reserve forest in Sivasagar district, Assam, for the establishment of the Assam Police Commando Battalion along the Assam-Nagaland interstate border.

The report also alleged that the camp is being established to “resist further attempts of encroachment by miscreants from the Nagaland side”, it said.

The Ao Senden strongly condemned this move, calling it “a clear case of encroachment by the Assam state government, abetted by the union government of India.”

It urged the Nagaland government to take up the matter with its counterpart in Assam and the Union government to protect the interests and integrity of the Ao territory and the state.

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