By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s proposal of appointing a mediator to solve the long-pending inter-State boundary dispute has been welcomed by civil societies as well as political parties of the State.
NCP leader James Sangma said that the proposal of appointing a third-party mediator was good but the two Governments should be sincere enough to solve the long-pending border dispute.
“I am skeptical as this issue has been dragged for many years and both the chief ministers lack sincerity to solve the issue,” Sangma added.
UDP working president Paul Lyngdoh said that the previous boundary commission which was set up during the tenure of the then chief ministers EK Mawlong (Meghalaya) and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta (Assam) should be revived as the Commission had done a lot of progress in the matter.
KSU general secretary Auguster Jyrwa said that the first and foremost requirement is to provide security to the people living in the border areas, while adding that the Central Government should intervene to solve the matter amicably.
CSWO president Agnes Kharshiing, while welcoming the proposal, said the mediator should be serious enough in solving the dispute early as people along the border areas have been continually suffering.
“It is a shame for both the states that the dispute has been lingering for forty years,” she added. Social activist Toki Blah said that the suggestion by the Assam Chief Minister was valid, but added that both states need to have a corrective objective to solve the dispute.
Blah was of the opinion that political parties of the two states must be involved in the entire process since the boundary issue is a political one.