GUWAHATI: A tribal organisation in Assam on Wednesday enforced an indefinite “economic blockade” against Arunachal Pradesh, protesting a recent incident of border firing that left 18 people injured.
The Takam Mising Porin Kebang, which represents Assam’s tribal Mising community, and some other organisations also jointly called a 12-hour shutdown in the state’s Dhemaji district on Wednesday.
They are demanding the arrest of individuals from Arunachal Pradesh allegedly involved in the firing incident near the interstate border in Dhemaji district on Monday.
The incident occurred when a group of Assam residents had gone to the area to hold a meeting with Arunachal villagers to resolve a village boundary dispute. The protesting organisations in Assam held Arunachal responsible for the incident.
“We went there for a peaceful negotiation but were fired upon. This was the third such incident in one month. We appeal to the Arunachal government to arrest all those involved or else, we will continue our protest indefinitely,” a protestor said.
Another protestor demanded the cancellation of gun licences issued by the Arunachal government to border residents.
“If the licences are not cancelled, the Assam government should arm the border residents of the state,” he said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told media persons on Wednesday that he had requested his Arunachal counterpart Pema Khandu to take action against those responsible for the incident.
“I requested the Arunachal Chief Minister to order an inquiry into the incident to find out the culprits and punish them,” he said.
The two states have long been embroiled in a border dispute. Sarma said the dispute had been resolved in most areas.
“The conflict was in 12 areas comprising 123 villages. It has been resolved in seven areas constituting 71 villages. The problem now needs to be resolved in five areas covering 52 villages. The site where the incident took place on Monday is among the 52 villages,” the Chief Minister said.
He further said the border regional committees of Assam and Arunachal could not work for the past year and a half due to elections in the two states. He was confident that the dispute in the remaining areas could be resolved early.
