Don’t allow miscreants to stoke violence in boundary areas

The killing of two people in a boundary-related violence at Kangku circle in Lower Siang district along the Assam-Arunachal boundary is unfortunate. The victims hail from Assam. Reportedly, the skirmishes broke out between people of Assam and Arunachal over a plot of land, leading to violence resulting in the death of two people. The situation turned tense on Sunday after many Arunachalee vehicles passing through Dhemaji district were damaged by mobs angry over the death of the two people.

However, to the credit of the governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the situation has been brought under control. The Arunachal Pradesh Police have so far arrested five people in this regard. The Assam Police are seeking their custody. In recent years, both the state governments have worked hard to resolve the boundary dispute between two states. An MoU was signed by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Arunachal CM Pema Khandu on 20 April this year in New Delhi, in the presence of union Home Minister Amit Shah, to resolve the border row. In July last year, the two chief ministers signed the Namsai Declaration, setting in motion the efforts to solve the boundary disputes. The attempt to resolve the dispute peacefully should be supported by people of both the states living along the boundary.

It is noticed that usually, a section of people from Assam, who are not even native of the area, indulge in land-grabbing activities along the Assam-Arunachal boundary area. These people should not be allowed to create disharmony between people of two states.