GUWAHATI: Langpih on the Assam-Meghalaya border is now at the centre of another boundary dispute between the two neighbouring states. This time, the bone of contention is Assam Police's alleged attempt to set up a border outpost in Umwali village, which has created resentment among the area's Khasis.
Boko (Assam) MLA Nandita Das, who visited the place on Friday, said Meghalaya had 'encroached upon' 14 villages that 'belong to Assam'. Das also accused Meghalaya of not accepting Survey of India maps that show the area to be part of Assam.
"We have seen that Meghalaya has been encroaching upon Assam's territories in Langpih. Since 2016, I have raised this issue in the assembly time and again but the state government has failed to resolve it. Fourteen Assam villages in Langpih have been included by Meghalaya in their community development block. Meghalaya even set up four voting centres therre in the last assembly election," the MLA said.
Das said she had sent several letters to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and PWD minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the subject, and added that Assam government had failed to provide proper road connectivity in the area due to stiff opposition from Meghalaya.
"Two PMGSY roads - one from Lower Langpih to Rani (about three km) and the other from Hahim to Lechadubi (about 900 metre) - could not be constructed on the Assam side of Langpih because of opposition from the people of Meghalaya. The Assam government remains a mute spectator in Langpih even when Meghalaya deploys its own police there," Das said.
While the authorities in Meghalaya are yet to react to the development, the residents of Langpih are hoping that the boundary dispute does not escalate or turn fatal like it did in 2010. Then, simmering animosity between Langpih's Khasis and Nepali coal workers whom they accused of encroachment bubbled over and resulted in a clash in which four persons were killed in police firing. Last year, too, Khasi Students' Union had cautioned the Nepalis against 'harassing the locals'.
Boko (Assam) MLA Nandita Das, who visited the place on Friday, said Meghalaya had 'encroached upon' 14 villages that 'belong to Assam'. Das also accused Meghalaya of not accepting Survey of India maps that show the area to be part of Assam.
"We have seen that Meghalaya has been encroaching upon Assam's territories in Langpih. Since 2016, I have raised this issue in the assembly time and again but the state government has failed to resolve it. Fourteen Assam villages in Langpih have been included by Meghalaya in their community development block. Meghalaya even set up four voting centres therre in the last assembly election," the MLA said.
Das said she had sent several letters to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and PWD minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the subject, and added that Assam government had failed to provide proper road connectivity in the area due to stiff opposition from Meghalaya.
"Two PMGSY roads - one from Lower Langpih to Rani (about three km) and the other from Hahim to Lechadubi (about 900 metre) - could not be constructed on the Assam side of Langpih because of opposition from the people of Meghalaya. The Assam government remains a mute spectator in Langpih even when Meghalaya deploys its own police there," Das said.
While the authorities in Meghalaya are yet to react to the development, the residents of Langpih are hoping that the boundary dispute does not escalate or turn fatal like it did in 2010. Then, simmering animosity between Langpih's Khasis and Nepali coal workers whom they accused of encroachment bubbled over and resulted in a clash in which four persons were killed in police firing. Last year, too, Khasi Students' Union had cautioned the Nepalis against 'harassing the locals'.
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