Second round of talks yields no result
Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Jun 8: The second round of the peace talks between representatives of the Assam-based Missing Autonomous Council (MAC) and the villagers of Hime in Kangku circle of Arunachal Pradesh failed to yield any fruitful result on Friday.
Tension had flared up at the Arunachal Pradesh-Assam boundary in Hime village recently when contractors and villagers from neighbouring Assam, in violation of the Supreme Court’s directive to maintain the status quo along the interstate boundaries, attempted to build a road over wet rice cultivation (WRC) land in Hime.
During Friday’s parley in Hime, the MAC was represented by its chief councillor Parnanda Sangia, along with local leaders from nearby villages of Assam.
The first round of the talks had been held on Thursday at Saamguria village in Gogamukh circle of Assam. Although the dispute is yet to be fully resolved, security forces have been withdrawn from both sides of the boundary since the talks began.
In Friday, admitting that his own people were at fault for attempting to build a road inside Arunachal territory, Sangia pleaded with the villagers of Hime and the owners of the WRC land to allow them to build the road through the WRC land.
The MAC chief councillor also offered to pay compensation to the landowners. However, the villagers of Hime rejected his plea outright. Later, Sangia sought time for clearing the sand that had been dumped on the WRC land.
The illegal construction activity in Arunachal territory by Assam contractors had put the administrations of both the sides on their toes.
Meanwhile, expressing concern over the latest boundary dispute, the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union has requested the state government to initiate action to “withdraw the illegal construction of road in the area.”
This is not the first time that such illegal encroachment has been witnessed, the union stated in a press release.
