States » EastPosted at: Jun 25 2025 10:52PM


Tension on disputed Assam-Meghalaya border; mob uproots saplings, dismantles shed

Shillong, June 25 (UNI) Tension erupted in Lapangap, a disputed village along the Assam-Meghalaya border, after a mob dismantled a wooden shed and uprooted saplings planted by Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) in Pynthor area, officials said today.

“A mob numbering around 400 from Lapangap and adjoining villages, went to the tree plantation sites in Assam in the disputed area yesterday and uprooted the saplings,” C Syrti, the district police chief of West Jaintia Hills, said.

Assam police resorted to lobbing tear gas shells to disperse the mob, but with the timely intervention of officials of both sides the situation was brought under control. There were no reports of injury till the filing of this report.

“The situation now is under control. The villagers have dispersed and a peace meeting will be held tomorrow (Thursday) between the residents of Lapangap village under Meghalaya and Tahpat village in Assam,” Abhinav Kumar Singh, the district magistrate of West Jaintia Hills, told UNI over phone.

Singh said, officials from the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council planted the saplings without authorisation as Meghalaya and Assam government have agreed on a status quo on developmental activities in the area.

“Despite communications with Assam at the level of Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and DGP against the tree plantation drive, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council went ahead and breached the status quo and planted the saplings and also constructed a shed, which was destroyed by the villagers this morning,” Singh said.

Moreover, he said the “developmental activity” by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council is seen by the villagers in Meghalaya as an “act of infringement” in the contested area, a hillock near Lapangap, which is known as Tahpat village in the Assam side.

Singh informed a peace meeting was supposed to be held this morning, but nobody turned up from Tahpat village despite people from Lapangap village going to the site for peace negotiation.

Meanwhile, a large number of security personnel, including Special Force-10 (SF-10) of Meghalaya police rushed to the area to prevent further escalation in the area.

“Together with the SF-10, about 100 police personnel and three executive magistrates are at the site and took the situation under control,” Singh said.

He said security personnel would be stationed in the area till everything normalised.

In 2023, Lapangap witnessed similar incidences when reportedly Karbi villagers along with Assam Police uprooted about 21000 saplings planted by Meghalaya Basin Development Authority through Japan International Cooperation Agency at Lum Moo Pyrdet Pynthor. Villagers in the area also fought with bows-arrows and catapult against each other.

Assam and Meghalaya have a long-standing dispute in 12 areas along the 885 km-long inter-state border. In March 2022, Assam Chief Minister Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart, Conrad Sangma signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) resolving their border dispute in six of the 12 areas of difference in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

In the first phase, six areas were resolved and a MoU signed to put at rest the differences in these areas. The six areas were Tarabari, Gizang, Hahim, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pillangkata and Ratacheera.

Both Assam and Meghalaya adopted a give and take policy under which Meghalaya took control of 18.28 square km and Assam 18.51 km out of the total disputed area of 36.79 square km in these six areas.

Talks would be held later this year over the six remaining areas of differences between the two sides, which also include some of these contested areas like Block II and II. UNI RRK SSP
Tags: #Tension on disputed Assam-Meghalaya border; mob uproots saplings# dismantles shed
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