Assam-Mizoram border row: Police force build up along the border

People from the border areas in Assam had alleged that there was construction from the Mizoram side and plantation of betel plants on Assam’s land in Hailakandi district. Also, the Assam Police have dismantled some huts in the border area.

Mizoram, meanwhile, has accused Assam of encroaching on its territory in Kolasib district.

Recently, the deputy commissioner of Kolasib held a meeting with his counterpart of Hailakandi to diffuse tension. Chief secretary-level talks are proposed for July 9.


Assam principal secretary (home) Niraj Verma told reporters on Friday that the border areas were forest land under the preview of the forest department. “We found makeshift structures in the form of encroachment. We have followed the Supreme Court order that reserved forests cannot have this kind of encroachment so we have removed them. If there are any differences in perception of the border, always officers from both states meet and we ascertain the facts,” Verma said.

The district administration in Hailakandi has cleared three forest villages in Dholaikhal area inside Assam, state officials said. A Covid-19 testing centre constructed in Jhumghar in Assam was demolished.

Mizoram shares a 164.6 km long border with Assam.

Last month, there was tension along the Assam-Mizoram border after houses were torched by miscreants in Gollacherra in Hailakandi district of Assam. The border area had also witnessed a flare up on October 9 last year.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said that the union home minister was likely to visit Shillong this month for holding meetings with north-eastern chief ministers and discuss issues such as interstate border disputes and drug trafficking.