Nagaland govt to engage third party to resolve differences over creation of Shamator district

Dimapur, Jan 7 (PTI) As the peaceful protest demanding Shamator district in Nagaland spearheaded by Yimkhiung Tribal Council (YTC) entered the fifth day, the state government on Friday decided to the set up a third party to negotiate with the tribal bodies of the area resolve their differences before making the declaration on it.

The decision was taken at a state cabinet meeting held during the day, Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton told mediapersons after the closed door meeting which was chaired by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.

The decision to engage a third party was taken to negotiate and bring about unity among the tribal bodies of the area before declaring Shamator, currently a sub-division of Tuensang district, a full fledged district.

The third party will be set up at the earliest to sort out differences between the civil societies in the area, Patton said.

YTC, an apex body of the Yimkhiung community of Nagaland, has been conducting series of peaceful protest rallies for three hours on a daily basis since January 3 to protest against the state government’s alleged failure to make Shamator a district despite its assurances.

It decided to put on hold all its agitations for some time following the cabinet decision, YTC general secretary S Tsuyihba told PTI over phone.

We will, however, continue to put pressure on the government with the hope that the government will grant districthood to Shamator by January 26, he said.

The state government while creating three new districts Tseminyu, Niuland and Chumukedima on December 18 had agreed in principle to grant the status to Shamator.

However, it has been of the opinion that it would be done only after the two communities in the area Yimkhiung and Tikhir come to an understanding and remain united.