One killed in violent land dispute on Assam-Meghalaya border

GUWAHATI: Clashes broke out between villagers from Assam and Meghalaya at a place on the interstate border on Thursday, which left one person dead and another injured. The violence occurred when villagers from Meghalaya went to harvest paddy. When a group of villagers from Lapangap village in Meghalayas West Jaintia Hills district reached the site at around 9:30 am, the residents of Tahpat village in Assams West Karbi Anglong district objected to it over disputes surrounding land ownership. Soon, an argument followed and it led to violent clashes. In a social media video, police personnel can be seen firing tear gas shells to control the situation. The deceased was identified as Orivel Timung and the injured as Stenwel Timung, both from West Karbi Anglong. The situation remained tense after the incident. The place witnessed violence also in the past. Karbi villagers said during a border peace committee meeting held on October 6, both states had decided to suspend agricultural and development activities until peace was restored. They resented that despite that decision, villagers from Meghalaya arbitrarily went to harvest paddy. After the incident, authorities in Meghalaya completely stopped the harvesting of agricultural produce until further orders, while Meghalaya Police registered an FIR under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Assam and Meghalaya have been locked in a bitter border dispute for decades. There were 12 areas of differences but the problem in six less sensitive areas has already been resolved following dialogues and joint inspections of the sites and interactions with the border residents. Solving the dispute in the remaining highly sensitive six areas will be a challenge for both governments. The process to start the border dialogues in the second phase is yet to begin.