After a month of calm, fresh trouble brews along Assam-Mizoram border

A fresh standoff has built up between Assam and Mizoram police on Thursday at Khulichara, a border area near the site of July violence that led to the death of six Assam police personnel, media reports said.

The fresh dispute started after Mizoram officials objected to road construction under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana by Assam. But authorities in Assam have blamed locals from the other side of the border for the tension.

Khulichara is about 12 km from Lailapur where a clash had left six Assam policemen dead injuries to 45 others in a two-hour gun-battle. The Chief Ministers of the two states had taken to Twitter to blame each other. The tension eased after mediation by Home Minister Amit Shah.

Also read: Assam-Mizoram border row: How lives changed on both sides

In the latest round, armed men from the Mizoram side tried to stop construction workers who were building the road in Khulichara village along the inter-state border in the Dholai subdivision of southern Assam’s Cachar district, Assam police said.

Though the construction has been temporarily stopped, senior Assam police officers Ramandeep Kaur, Superintendent of Police of Cachar district, and Deputy Inspector General of Police Debojyoti Mukherjee have rushed to the spot. Additional police personnel have been deployed in the area.

“Talks have been initiated at the top level. I believe the issue will get resolved. They have once again violated these ground rules and have entered our territory,” Kaur said.

Also read: Mizoram regrets death of 6 cops, Assam to ease travel restrictions

Central forces are also deployed in the area to stave off conflict between the armed police forces of the two states.

The current standoff comes three days after people from border villages decided to find a middle ground on their own to avert clashes. Village level public representatives of both the states met at Lailapur in Assam past Sunday and agreed to compromise on some issues. “We need each other so we are ready to compromise to restore peace and normalcy,” said a village representative, said a media report.

A delegation of Vairengte Joint Village Council led by their chairman R Lalfamkima was in Lailapur to attend a meeting with representatives of Assam’s villages where they agreed to put the border dispute aside and allow people from either side to enter villages.

“What happened on July 26 was unfortunate… We have decided to make our own rules which will be applicable only for the people of a few villages from both the sides. We have informed the Mizoram chief minister about our decisions and he has appreciated our attempt,” Lalfamkima told HT.