Guwahati, Aug 23: The regional committees to resolve the border dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh has started visiting disputed areas.
On Monday, Assam Minister of Information and Public Relations, Pijush Hazarik visited Balipara while Regional Committee chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Arunachal Pradesh, Chowna Mein and Regional Committee of Assam chaired by Assam Border Protection and Development Minister, Atul Bora visited the disputed areas of Assam- Arunachal Pradesh border of Namsai district.
It is a follow-up action of ‘Namsai Declaration’ signed on July 15, 2022, following a discussion between Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma and his counterpart Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have decided that the joint visits by the regional committees of both the states to the areas identified as disputed in eight districts of Assam that shares a border with 12 districts of Arunachal Pradesh will be concluded within August 31.
Bora said that on direction of Chief Minister and as a part of the Regional Committees formed following the Namsai Declaration, the Committee jointly visited the Border areas and met with the villagers residing in these disputed Border areas accompanied by the concerned Regional Committee of Arunachal Pradesh which was led by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein.
Both the teams jointly paid a visit to Mengkengmiri Simanta, Tengapani area etc. bordering Tinsukia and Namsai districts to assess the ground situation.
Bora added that the committees representing both the states heard the opinions shared by the local people residing along the border areas. Additionally, the Minister also shared that the visit holds immense significance in the process to resolve the Border disputes between the two states and the situation will be resolved within a short span.
The Regional Committee led by Bora is expected to soon submit reports to Assam Chief Minister. Bora said that due to the strong will and visionary leadership of Chief Minister the State is going to witness concrete measures being initiated to resolve decades old inter-State border issues between Assam and its neighbouring states.
Meanwhile, Assam I&PR Minister Pijush Hazarika said that on September 2 and 3, the teams of the two states will visit the disputed areas and prepare a report after field study. He stressed that the overall development of the people living in the border areas is not possible without a permanent solution to the border problem.
The minister insisted on visiting the border areas and preparing a report only after taking the full opinion of the local residents. Stating that many disputed areas have already been resolved during the talks in Namsai, the Minister said that on September 2 and 3, he would visit the border area along with the Arunachal Minister and other representatives to take the views of the locals. The minister said that the committee’s report will be prepared only after taking their opinion.
Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have agreed in principle to restrict the number of disputed villages to 86 instead of 123.
