Officials meet to resolve Assam, Arunachal Pradesh border row

DISPUR/ CHARAIPUNG - A high-level meeting of officials from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh was held to resolve the tension prevailing in the Charaipung area along Assam-Arunachal Pradesh (AP) border.

During the meeting, it was decided that the bunkers erected by the Arunachal Pradesh police in the area between Charaipung and the Teok River would be removed immediately.

“Arunachal Pradesh has sent a delegation to Guwahati to meet our counterpart government of Assam, to discuss and make efforts to neutralise the situation at Charaipung, which is affecting the normal life of the common people,” Setong Sena, Finance Minister of Arunachal Pradesh said on Friday.

The Revenue Minister of Assam, Bhumidhar Barman, urged to the media to cooperate in bringing back normalcy to the area.

“We need peace and harmony in the area. We need normalcy back so I request that our media, electronic and press media should extend their full cooperation to us so that this normalcy comes back immediately, and peace and harmony prevails there,” said Barman.

It was also decided that both the Assam police and Arunachal Pradesh police would jointly patrol the area. The meeting also made an appeal to the organisations resorting to economic blockade to withdraw their blockade in the interest of the general public of both the states.

The Assam government would now take necessary steps to immediately withdraw the additional police force deployed in the area after August 14.

The meeting further decided that strong actions would be taken against militants in the area, if any display of arms or any extortion attempt were made by them.

The meeting also decided to follow the decisions taken for restoring peace at a meeting between Arunachal Pradesh’s Home Minister, Tako Dabi, and Assam’s Law Minister, Pranab Gogoi, on August 19 in Sibsagar. By Peter Alex Todd (ANI)