By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 28: The regional committees of Meghalaya and Assam for West Khasi Hills and Kamrup have claimed they were able to narrow down the “huge gap” in the border conflict.
The two committees met in Shillong on Monday for the second time to discuss the dispute and exchanged documents. It was said to be a productive meeting.
Cabinet Minister and chairman of West Khasi Hills regional committee Paul Lyngdoh led the Meghalaya side. The Assam side was led by the state’s Forest Minister and chairman of the Kamrup sector regional committee Chandra Mohan Patowary.
Talking to reporters later, Lyngdoh claimed the committees were able to narrow down the areas in conflict. In order to go to the specifics, the two deputy commissioners as well as the local MDC have been entrusted with the task of preparing a list which will then be taken up for a discussion, he said.
Patowary also claimed the “huge gap in the conflict” has been narrowed down. He was hopeful the dispute could be resolved early. He refused to comment when asked about the number of villages that are in conflict.
He said they would want to know the mindset of border residents during site inspection and only after that, they would be in a position to say who wants to stay in which state.
The two committees will visit the disputed areas after Assembly session in Meghalaya in September. They will visit four-five villages and choose a central place for a meeting.
Earlier, Lyngdoh had told media persons that Meghalaya has a strong claim for 54 villages in the West Khasi Hills sector.
The chairmen of both committees are optimistic about resolving the dispute even in challenging Langpih as they believe there is no issue which cannot be resolved through discussions.
Lyngdoh said the incidents of border skirmishes along the disputed stretch have gone down.
He was reacting to a recent incident where Meghalaya police personnel were chased away by Karbi villagers in Lapangap village in West Jaintia Hills.
Terming it as isolated, he said the incident indicates the police did not have any inputs of what was happening in the area.