NONGPOH, Oct 9: The regional committees on border disputes for Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya and Kamrup (Metro) district of Assam today conducted a joint visit to two clusters in Khanapara and Pilangkata.
The Ri Bhoi committee led by Meghalaya’s Deputy CM, Prestone Tynsong and Kamrup (Metro) committee led by Assam’s cabinet minister Piyush Hazarika visited several border villages that included Barapathar, Iongkhuli, Maikhuli and Khanapara, to take the views and suggestions of the local residents.
Meghalaya Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong said, the visit today was in accordance with the decision taken by the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya, adding that a comprehensive report will be compiled by both the committees to be sent to the CMs very soon.
“This is only a physical visit; we are not going to take any final decision here. We will have to get some historical facts, documents and others and accordingly, from both sides we will send the report to chief ministers of Meghalaya and Assam,” Tynsong told media persons here today.
This is the committees’ first inspection and during their visit, local residents from both sides gathered to stake claims on the land besides sharing their inputs and suggestions.
“We cannot accept the suggestion that villages falling on the other side of the road should belong to Assam. It should be up to the people to decide whether they want to stay in Meghalaya or Assam,” said one of the local residents.
The visits to the disputed areas are part of the ongoing attempt by both the state governments to resolve the long-pending border disputes.