• Urges Assam and Nagaland Governments for proper demarcation of boundary
• Restriction on vehicles transporting goods only
Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 15
Following the announcement of economic blockade to Nagaland from November 17, the Karbi Students’ Association (KSA) on Sunday said that the blockade is not against any community, but in pursuance of a ‘proper boundary demarcation’.
Alleging unabated illegal encroachment of land in Karbi Anglong district by ‘Naga miscreants’ and the failure of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and the Assam government to protect their land, the KSA initiated the economic blockade to Nagaland.
Speaking to The Morung Express, Thang sing Timung, General Secretary KSA informed that during the indefinite blockade, vehicles transporting goods would not be allowed to ply.
However, other vehicles would be exempted, he added.
The blockade is to pressurise both the Assam and Nagaland Government, so that there should not be any misunderstanding between the two communities, he said.
“We should know the exact boundary- which area belongs to Nagaland and which area belongs to Karbi Anglong, Assam,” Timung said.
The KSA General Secretary claimed that according to the Assam Forest Department, parts of the Rilan village of Nagaland fall in the Doldoli Reserve Forest area. However, the land patta for the residents of the village had been issued by the Nagaland Government.
The KSA sought to know how the Nagaland Government had issued patta for areas in the Karbi Anglong area. It also questioned the silence of the Assam government on the issue.
Earlier in 2019, the Assam Forest department had also issued an eviction notice to the Rilan village residents alleging that the land was ‘well inside the Doldoli Reserve Forest’.
The villagers, on the other hand, had maintained that Rilan is a recognized village within Nagaland state.
“This conflict will continue if we do not have a proper demarcation,” the KSA General Secretary stated.
Meanwhile, Timung maintained that the blockade is not against the Nagas. “This is not against the Naga communities, but this is for the protection of the boundary in the coming future,” he said.
Whether the land belongs to Nagaland or Assam should be clearly demarcated by the governments of both the state. They should conduct a joint survey and discussion so that in the coming days, there should not be any conflict between the Naga and Karbi communities, he reasoned.
Neither the Assam government nor the Nagaland government has responded to the call for economic blockade till date. As such, the blockade will be enforced from Tuesday with KSA volunteers manning the roads, he added.
Meanwhile, the KSA Publicity Secretary issued a list of demands for the same on Sunday.
The Association demanded that the pillar removed by the Nagaland Government in Doldoli Reserve Forest should be reinstalled with GPS coordinates.
It also demanded that the two Nagaland IRBN camps inside the Doldoli Reserve Forest and near Pillar no 9 should be moved back to their respective border areas.
The KSA also demanded that the electricity allegedly supplied by the Nagaland Government to the village, be removed. It also said that all materials of electrification should be taken back.
It called for eviction of all illegal encroachment in Doldoli Reserve Forest and added that the Nagaland Government should not interfere in the Karbi Anglong border development scheme.
It further stated that illegal encroachment should be stopped in the ‘near future’.
