31 July,2021 05:28 AM IST | Silchar | Agencies
Locals protest in front of Mizoram House against the killing of five Assam cops and one civilian in border clash, in Cachar, Assam. File pic/PTI
The situation on the Assam-Mizoram border remained tense but calm as CRPF troops have started patrolling National Highway 306 between the two states, in strength.
Officials in Assam's Barak valley said organised blockade on roads leading to Mizoram had been lifted and no group was now out on the streets trying to stop truckers or other vehicles. After a clash on Monday between Assam and Mizoram police forces on a disputed border forest tract, various groups in the Barak Valley had announced a blockade of Mizoram, drawing sharp protests from the neighbouring state.
Tension along the border with Mizoram in Cachar and Hailakandi districts of Assam have been escalating since October 2020 with frequent incidents of burning of houses and encroachment of land.
The two states share a 164.6-km border between Assam's Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts, and Mizoram's Kolasib, Mamit and Aizawl.
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Both states have differing interpretations of their territorial border. While Mizoram believes that its border lies along an 'inner line' drawn up in 1875 to protect tribals from outside influence, Assam goes by a district demarcation done in the 1930s.
Meghalaya Lok Sabha MP Vincent H Pala on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that interstate boundary clashes have not just been on the rise of late, but have taken an aggressive turn under the newly sworn-in BJP government in Assam.
"For reasons best known to the present BJP-led government of Assam, such conflicts have not only been on the rise, but have also taken a much more aggressive turn," Pala, a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Shillong, wrote. He sought the PM's intervention to address the issue.
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