Meghalaya Dy CM visits arson-hit Lapangap border village amid fresh tensions with Assam
The villages in the Lapangap vicinity are disputed areas over which both Assam & Meghalaya lay their claims
Shillong, July 9: Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar on Tuesday visited the Lapangap area bordering Assam, which has been rocked by incidents of arson, allegedly committed by villagers from both the neighbouring States.
Dhar, who is also the chairperson of the regional committee for West Jaintia Hills formed to resolve the decades-long boundary dispute with Assam, visited the area to get a ground report on the skirmishes.
The Deputy Chief Minister, who is also a legislator from the Jaintia Hills, was accompanied by the Chief Executive Member of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, Thombor Shiwat, West Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner Abhinav Kumar Singh, and SP Jagpal Singh Dhanao.
There is dispute over some villages in the vicinity of Lapangap with both Meghalaya and Assam claiming these as their own. On June 25, villagers from Meghalaya uprooted sandalwood saplings planted by personnel concerned of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and burned down a wooden structure in the area.
The Meghalaya Government officials also claimed that the KAAC carried out the tree plantation drive without any authority as both the State governments had earlier agreed to maintain status quo on development activities in the area.
In retaliation, villagers from Assam set fire to thatched huts on agricultural fields during the last few days. Meghalaya villagers claimed that standing crops were also destroyed.
“Our people are totally against the plantation drive. As of now, there is no plantation in the area,” Dhar said after inspecting the paddy fields belonging to the villagers of Lapangap.
Expressing concern over obstacles to carry out cultivation activities, the Deputy Chief Minister said: “We will discuss this issue with the Assam Government in the coming days so that our villagers can cultivate their paddy fields without any sense of insecurity.”
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioners of West Jaintia Hills and West Karbi Anglong district will hold a meeting soon to defuse the tension in the area and bring about a working solution.
Dhar said that adequate police forces have been deployed in the area to ensure the safety and security of the people.