Central team inspects Indo-Myanmar border pillar after villagers claim its location was changed

Surveyor General of India, said, based on the records with the Survey of India the position of the border pillar is in the right place. The border is where it should be as per the agreement signed between India and Myanmar in 1976.

The Indo-Myanmar border was sealed on Thursday after a major fire broke out late last night just across the international gate in Myanmar.

Villagers of Kwatha Khunour where the border pillar is erected have been claiming that the location of the pillar has been shifted from its original place 3 kilometers inside the Indian territory. (Representational Image)

A central team comprising senior officials of Ministries of Home Affairs, External Affairs and Surveyor General of India on Wednesday conducted verification of the Indo-Myanmar border pillar number 81, which is marred by controversy over its location.

Villagers of Kwatha Khunour where the border pillar is erected, at the Indo-Myanmar border in Tengnoupal district of Manipur, have been claiming that the location of the pillar has been shifted from its original place 3 kilometers inside the Indian territory.

The issue has triggered public outcry in the state, prompting the Biren Singh government to call in a central team for verification on the positions of subsidiary pillars between main Border Pillar number 80 to 82 on the India-Myanmar boundary and more particularly main Border Pillar number 81 in presence of all stakeholders.

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Even as the Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement on July 8, denied shifting the border pillar, which was set up on June 22 last year, the state government had to urge the Centre for a resurvey as the public outcry gains momentum.

The team consisting of Surveyor General of India, Lt. General Girish Kumar; Joint Secretary (BM)/MEA, Sripriya Ranganathan and Joint Secretary (NE)/MHA, A.V. Dharma Reddy, arrived in Imphal on Tuesday.

During their visit, the central team interacted with the locals of Kwatha Khunou, representative of political parties and members of civil society organizations of Manipur.

Lt. General Girish Kumar, Surveyor General of India, said, based on the records with the Survey of India the position of the border pillar is in the right place. The border is where it should be as per the agreement signed between India and Myanmar in 1976, he added.

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However, with villagers insisting that as per the traditional boundary the border pillar has been shifted we will look into it, continued Girish Kumar.

The United Committee Manipur (UCM), a powerful civil body, however, expressed their disappointment over the verification conducted by the central team.

“We feel that the verification conducted by the team today is incomplete and not satisfactory. How can one verify whether the location of the border pillar is right or wrong without using any types of equipment”, said Sunil Karam president UCM.

Parichay Kumar, Superintendent of Police (Patna East), who reached the spot, said: "We have been talking to the driver of Rajkumar Yadav. Prima facie, it looks to be a case of land dispute and money transactions."

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