By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 10: Opposition leader Mukul Sangma attributed Thursday’s violence at Lapangap to lapses in intelligence by both Assam and Meghalaya governments.
Speaking to media persons here on Friday, the former chief minister said there was a robust system for intelligence gathering, involving authorities of both states, prior to 2018.
“We ensured that there was a robust system in place involving authorities from both governments, including coordination between the district administrations on both sides and at the level of Chief Secretaries,” Sangma said.
He prayed for complete restoration of peace along the inter-state border, recalling that people co-existed peacefully for decades. He wondered if the situation in the area of conflict was allowed to grow beyond a certain level which led to the skirmish.
He feared that there will be more issues and problems in the border areas if the second phase of talks between the two states for the resolution of the border dispute are delayed further.
“When we engage in a bilateral discussion, it is very important for us to clearly indicate our intentions to all the people who are affected by this and by any outcome of this negotiation,” Sangma said.
He believed that the lack of clarity on the outcome of the negotiation between the two states is leading to insecurity among the border residents and hence, such incidents are recurring.
Asking the government to aggressively engage with people from both sides, he said the manner in which the government will approach the people is going to be crucial. He said the government must deal with the matter of boundary dispute at multiple levels as it cannot be resolved at one level.
Sniawbhalang Dhar, Deputy Chief Minister and chairman of the West Jaintia Hills regional committee on border issue, said the situation in the border area remains under control. After the incident, the state government had asked him to visit the area along with the Assam counterpart to assess the prevailing situation.
Dhar said instructions have been given to the Deputy Commissioner to coordinate with all authorities concerned to ensure that the situation does not escalate.
Stating that the incident was not related to the interstate border issue but harvesting activities, he said the government is monitoring the situation closely.
Asked if the matter will be taken up at the ground level, he said there are no such plans at present. “Political-level talks between the two Chief Ministers are already happening,” he added.
Dhar explained that while some parts along the Khanduli-Psiar belt fall under the disputed zones, the location of Thursday’s incident is outside those areas.
