Officials from both Meghalaya and Assam today met at Lapangap village to hold talks for restoration of peace and tranquility along the inter-state border.
West Jaiñtia Hills Deputy Commissioner Batlang S Sohliya held the meeting with his Karbi Anglong counterpart Krishna Baruah, which was also attended by the Superintendents of Police of both the districts and local leaders from the two communities.
The Deputy Commissioner said both the communities have agreed to maintain peace and tranquility. He said the differences arose due to Karbi from Assam not allowing the Pnar villagers to harvest their paddy.
“We have raised this issue today and the Assam side has assured that the Pnar villagers would be allowed to harvest and the Assam police would escort the farmers to the fields,” Sohliya said.
However, the Assam side had set a condition and sought the removal of saplings planted by the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority. The Deputy Commissioner said, some of the saplings were uprooted and the rest would be done so soon.
Meanwhile, situation was normal today after the Pnar and Karbi communities along the inter-state border were engaged in attacking each other on September 26 and 27 using bows, arrows and slingshots. The Assam police had to fire tear gas to disperse the warring groups.
The Khun Hynñiewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) has blamed soft on the part of Meghalaya governments past and presence for the clashes that have erupted between the Khasi-Pnar people in Meghalaya and the Karbis in Assam.
“We remember the Meghalaya police being forced to run from a Karbi crowd in Block 2,” KHNAM leader Thomas Passah said. “Recently too, a Karbi crowd made Meghalaya police run for their lives and this time we saw helpless police personnel unable to take control and ensure law and order at Lapangap (the latest site of clashes between the two communities).”
However, Passah did not blame the police on the ground but their higher-ups who have, he said, not given them the authority to act more forcefully.
KHNAM also blames the joint cadre system between Meghalaya and Assam, which it wants bifurcated.
