Shillong,June 27: The Jaintia Joint Action Committee Border Issue (JJICBI) and Hynñiewtrep Border Disputes Redressal Forum have urged the state government to deploy forces in Lapangap to ensure peace in the border.
Earlier, the Hynñiewtrep Border Disputes Redressal Forum wanted the Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to address the incident arising out of the ongoing border dispute between Meghalaya and Assam in Lapangap village of West Jaintia Hills District.
A memorandum was submitted by the Forum stating that the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council planted saplings in the village of Lapangap, Block-1, without consulting the village head on June 10. A complaint was lodged with the office of the Deputy Commissioner, West Jaintia Hills District.
A meeting was held on June 19, between the DC/SP of West Karbi Anglong and West Jaintia Hills District at IB Khanduli, where it was resolved to maintain peace and halt the tree planting program. However, the Assam side allegedly violated the agreement and continued with the tree planting program without consulting the village heads.
On June 25, , a meeting was held with residents of Lapangap village, NGOs, and district authorities from both sides.
The residents and NGOs uprooted the trees planted by Assam without permission. An exchange of words between the Karbi and Pnar communities led to the use of aggressive language, catapults, and stones. The Assam Police fired tear gas, resulting in reports of injuries among the Pnar people.
The Karbi community allegedly destroyed and burnt paddy fields of the Pnar people on the same day.
On June 26, the Assam police arrived in larger numbers, surrounded the area, and attempted to construct a camp.
The HBDRF has requested the Meghalaya government to deploy police personnel/SF-10 in large numbers at the location for safety and to stop Assam police from constructing camps in the area.
It also wanted the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya to visit the area to ensure safety and maintain peace
The forum expressed fear that if Assam police are allowed to construct camps, it would put the lives of their people in danger and be difficult to remove them in the future.
