Morung Express News
Dimapur | June 13
Against the backdrop of continued tension and incidence of violence in the Wokha-Merapani disturbed area belt (DAB), a consultative meeting between leaders of the Assamese and Lotha (natives of Wokha district) communities was held Wednesday at Hotel Saramati, Dimapur.
Addressing the media after the meeting, leaders of both the sides said that they have resolved on four points, including appealing to the people living in the border areas both in Nagaland and Assam side to maintain peace and harmony.
The meeting also resolved to appeal to the recently formed Golaghat-Wokha District Friendship Forum to formulate modalities to protect and safeguard people living in border areas of Nagaland and Assam.
The third resolution appealed to the law enforcing agencies to maintain strict law and order in the border areas. Further, members in the meeting also called upon the neutral force (CRPF) manning the DAB to maintain neutrality and ensure that incidence of violence and possible communal flare up, should be avoided in the future.
Besides the co-chairman of the recently formed Golaghat-Wokha District Friendship Forum, Capt (retd) T Nath, the Assam side included AGP working president, Atul Bora, and general secretary, Pradip Hazarika. The Lotha delegation was led by Lotha Hoho Dimapur president and co-secretary of the Friendship Forum, Ntsemo Ngullie.
In the meeting both sides made it clear that though the border issue was a reality, but people living in the border areas, especially Assamese and Nagas, should maintain the age-old tradition of peaceful co-existence. The leaders from both the sides also called upon the respective state governments to resolve the border dispute at the earliest.
In the consultative meeting, leaders from both sides admitted that the border issue has been further fuelled by presence of ‘Bangladeshi’ elements who were fomenting unrest in the DAB.
Meanwhile, leaders of the two communities informed that the Friendship Forum is planning to organize a cultural exchange extravaganza at Merapani in the first week of July to further bolster and cement the age-old bond-ship between Assamese and Nagas.
