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Talks aimed at the resolution of border disputes between Assam and Meghalaya resumed on Wednesday with a chief minister-level meeting — a first since the firing incident at the border village of Mukroh in November last year in which six people had died.
Wednesday’s meeting was led by the two chief ministers, Himanta Biswa Sarma of Assam and Conrad Sangma of Meghalaya, and was also attended by other top ministers and officials.
Last March, Sarma, and Sangma signed an MoU to settle disputes in a 36.7-sq-km zone comprising six areas. The second phase of talks involve six more areas that are more complex to resolve. The Mukroh firing was a setback before phase 2 began. Now, with talks resuming, both CMs will jointly visit tension-prone border areas to build confidence.
Assam and Meghalaya share an 884 km-long border which has frequently seen flare-ups. The two chief ministers have been in talks to resolve the dispute since July 2021. Last March, they signed an MoU to settle the disputes in a 36.7-sq-km area comprising six out of the twelve disputed areas. The second phase of talks, tackling the remaining six areas, was supposed to have begun last August. However, the Mukroh incident took place three months later.
After Wednesday, the CMs announced that in June, they will jointly visit tension-prone border areas along the West Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya and Karbi Anglong in Assam, which is also where Mukroh is located.
Last year, three panels headed by Cabinet ministers had been constituted by both states. In Wednesday’s meeting, it was decided that these should begin their visits to disputed areas.
Sarma said they will not set a specific timeline for the process as “these six areas are a little bit complicated in nature”.
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