While the Assam Government is seemingly working out a formula to defuse the tension along the Assam-Nagaland border in Assam’s Golaghat district, the thousands of people of Assam, including women and children, still continued to live in the relief camps set up by the district administration.
Two more bodies have been recovered from violence-hit Assam-Nagaland border on Sunday taking the toll to nine in the violence. The toll could go up as many people are still missing in the area. Sporadic incidents of violence from Nagaland side in Assam villages along the border have forced the people to leave their houses and to take shelter in relief camps.
The recent violence in Uriamghat area under Dhansiri subdivision along the Assam-Nagaland border in the district have so far rendered over 10,000 people homeless. The Golaghat district administration has set up 13 relief camps to accommodate those who had to flee their homes.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday asked his principal secretary Jishnu Baruah to immediately submit a detailed report on the situation in Golaghat district to the Union Home Ministry.
The Assam Government had so far received three companies of central paramilitary forces from the Centre.
“The State Government had sent another three companies to the affected areas to assist the neutral force. Besides, the Assam Government had sent two companies of Assam police battalions to enhance security along the affected areas,” State Home Commissioner GD Tripathy said on Sunday, while adding that 18 police pickets have also been set up along the affected areas to boost the confidence of the people.
“We are trying to send the people back to their homes by giving security and security pickets have been set up for this purpose,” Tripathy said, adding that about 500 people have left relief camps in the last 24 hours.
“The Government wants us to go back home. But how can we go back as there is no security in our villagesIJ Who will take responsibility if the Nagas come back again and attack usIJ They have guns to attack us,” said Silvious Tirkey, who is taking shelter in a relief camp, while talking to this correspondent over phone.
Tirkey had been living in the relief camp with his six-member family for the last four days. He also complained that the administration had not been providing the even the basic amenities to the inmates in relief camps.
Assam and Nagaland share a total of 512.1 kms of border along Jorhat, Sivsagar, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts of Assam. The border area in Golaghat district had always remained the key points of dispute since beginning of the problem.
Created in 1866, the Naga Hills was part of undivided Assam till 1957. But disputes started over territory soon after the Nagaland attained statehood in 1963. There had been many instances of encroachment on each other land in the past resulting in death of several civilians over the last several decades.
While the Nagaland demands transfer of 12,882 square kms of area from Assam, which had been ‘unjustifiably excluded from Naga Hills’ without its consent in the past, the Assam Government claims the territory as its own.
In 2010, the Supreme Court had appointed mediators to resolve the dispute, which had submitted its report to the apex court in 2013. The mater is still pending as the apex court had sought views from both State Governments and the Centre over it.