SHILLONG, OCT 10: Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma has called for a practical and realistic approach to resolving the border issue between Meghalaya and Assam.
His statement came a day after a clash broke out between Karbi and Pnar villagers along the Assam and Meghalaya interstate border resulting in the death of one person.
Speaking to media persons on Friday, Sangma expressed deep concern over the loss of life and injuries sustained by several people, including police personnel.
The former chief minister said there is a need to have a robust mechanism in place to prevent such incidents.
He pointed out that prior to 2018, both states had a functional system of communication and coordination between the district administrations and chief secretaries, which helped prevent tensions from escalating.
Sangma attributed the recent incident to a failure of intelligence collection and coordination between the two states.
“That means the situations which are probably developing in those areas, in as far as the conflict is concerned, are allowed to grow beyond a certain level, leading to this kind of unfortunate incident. It is a failure of intelligence collection by both states to understand that this may have this kind of unpleasant fallout, leading to the loss of precious life and injury to many. It is a failure,” he said.
He emphasized the need for clarity and transparency in bilateral negotiations, suggesting that a lack of clarity on the outcome of negotiations may be creating insecurity among the people on both sides.
“In fact, I have reasons to believe that the lack of clarity about the ultimate outcome of these negotiations may be creating this sense of insecurity amongst the people from both sides. It can be, therefore, there is a necessity of aggressive engagement with the people from both sides, because they are the ones who are directly affected. I think how we approach dealing with the situation is going to be critical and will have a resultant outcome, positive or negative, based on that,” Sangma said adding “That’s why there is a need for the people who are involved with this exercise to have the power of discerning and understanding about the likelihood of any kind of negative environment being created, creating this mistrust and sense of insecurity amongst the people from either side of the state.”
The Leader of Opposition stressed the importance of engaging with people on both sides of the border to build trust and understanding. He called for a multi-layered approach to resolving the issue, involving authorities at various levels.
“It is a matter which should be immediately attended to by both authorities of both governments at multiple levels, not at one level alone. It cannot be resolved at one level; it has to be at multiple levels. It must be a multi-layered endeavor. That’s why having complete clarity of understanding of the complexity of the problem is necessary,” he said.
Sangma conveyed his condolences to the family of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
He prayed for the restoration of peace and a conducive environment for people on both sides of the border to coexist.
By Our Reporter
