Assam advises its people not to travel to Mizoram

GUWAHATI-   Owing to the ongoing border dispute, the Assam government on Thursday advised its people not to travel to neighbour state Mizoram. In an advisory, it said, “People of Assam are advised not to travel to Mizoram as any threat to the personal safety of people of Assam can’t be accepted.”

At least six Assam Police personnel were killed and several others suffered injuries in clashes at the Assam-Mizoram border on Monday, July 26. Both the state’s claim land on the border between Cachar in Assam and Kolasib in Mizoram. In October last year, residents of Assam and Mizoram had clashed twice over the territory, leaving a dozen injured.

However, both the states on Wednesday had agreed to amicably resolve the ongoing border conflict after a meeting was called the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which was attended by the chief secretaries and the police heads of Assam and Mizoram.

Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla chaired the meeting which was attended by Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah and Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta and their respective Mizoram counterparts Lalnunmawia Chuaungo and SBK Singh. The Director General of CRPF also attended the meeting as the personnel of the paramilitary force have been deployed in the Assam-Mizoram border areas where tension is high.

Meanwhile, Mizoram Deputy Chief Minister Tawnluia on Thursday said his government is ready to face any lawsuit over claims that it had encroached on neighbour Assam’s territory. The Deputy Chief Minister’s remarks came as a rebuttal to the “encroachment” charge levelled by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday, who said his government would move the Supreme Court over the issue.