From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Dec 11: Shillong MP Ricky Andrew J. Syngkon on Thursday vociferously demanded the immediate withdrawal of Assam Police forces from Langpih areas of Meghalaya and a permanent settlement of the long-standing interstate border dispute at the earliest, with the intervention of the Centre.
Taking up the matter in the Lok Sabha under the discussion on ‘matters of public importance’, the VPP MP pointed out that farmers of Langpih had to harvest their crops this season under police protection from Meghalaya.
This, he said, is because the Meghalaya and Assam governments have failed to resolve the long-pending interstate border dispute.
He added that it is high time the Centre made a serious intervention and brought about a solution.
Syngkon said the volatile border issue between the two states has created a permanent atmosphere of fear among local residents, most of them tribal farmers of Meghalaya.
“I was an eyewitness to the plight of farmers when they had to harvest their own paddy under police protection,” he said.
Assam maintains a police presence in the disputed border village of Langpih through an existing border outpost (BOP). Meghalaya has a temporary police presence nearby and has previously attempted to establish its own full-fledged outpost in Langpih, which Assam has opposed.
The presence of Assam Police personnel has led to several incidents, including a fatal shooting in 2010 in which four Khasi individuals were killed, and clashes over development projects such as electrification and road construction, as residents from Meghalaya often object to Assam’s activities in areas they claim as their own.
The chief ministers and officials of both states have held several meetings to find an amicable solution to the border disputes.
Six of the twelve disputed areas have been resolved, but Langpih remains one of the unsettled locations. Joint police meetings are also held to maintain peace.
