Karbi civil organisations urge Assam, Meghalaya governments to respect demarcated boundaries

Our Correspondent

Diphu, Nov. 28 (EMN): The Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) and its allies — the Karbi Students’ Association (KSA) and Karbi Nimso Chingthur Asong (KNCA) — have asked both Assam and Meghalaya to respect and adhere to the government notification of 1951, which has clearly demarcated the boundaries during the creation of the district and creation of the then autonomous state of Meghalaya and in the Northeast re-organisation of 1971.

In a press conference convened at ASDC central committee office in Diphu on Monday, the publicity secretary, Daniel Teron said a joint delegation comprising ASDC, KSA and KNCA left for New Delhi on November 19 to meet Union Home Minister, Amit Shah and submit a memorandum on Autonomous State and border issues.

On November 25, they met with Union Minister of Shipping Port and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal where MP Horensing Bey apprised them of the border problems with Meghalaya, particularly the recent violence at Mukroh in West Karbi Anglong, which claimed six persons lives including a forest guard.

Teron said the joint delegation have demanded the Central government that all encroachers along the inter-state boundary either with Meghalaya or Nagaland should be evicted, and all structures and establishments constructed either by the public or by government inside Karbi Anglong or West Karbi Anglong should be demolished in presence of Central government authority; a joint survey by Assam-Meghalaya and Assam-Nagaland should be conducted in presence of Survey of India and boundary pillars be erected again as the previous ones were damaged by encroachers.

It also demanded the protection of border areas, increase in the number of BoPs along with police personnel, by not applying the give-and-take policy and to dismantle the BoP constructed by Meghalaya at Am-ih in 1979 and be shifted to Saisema, which is the actual boundary. 

The publicity secretary said the forest camp at Mukroh which was burned down should be constructed and development activities carried out by the Meghalaya government inside Karbi Anglong should be stopped.

He also said the ASDC, KSA and KNCA will be participating in the protest on November 29 at Hamren against the encroachment by Meghalaya on Karbi Anglong and thereafter the joint delegation will travel back to New Delhi to meet the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah on December 10 to 15.