CM-level Talks Between Mizoram And Assam To Resolve Long-Standing Issues

Mizoram and Assam are likely to hold chief ministerial-level talks in New Delhi later this month or early September to find an amicable solution to the inter-state border dispute, officials said.

The development comes close on the heels of the two northeastern states engaging in a ministerial-level discussion to resolve the decades-old boundary dispute.

Assam ministers Atul Bora and Ashok Singhal on Wednesday met Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga here and discussed the border issue, the officials said.

During the meeting, Zoramthanga spoke to his counterpart in the neighbouring state Himanta Biswa Sarma and 'both agreed to have CM-level talks in Delhi in the last part of August or early September', an official statement said.

Zoramthanga told the visiting Assam ministers that his government would make efforts to amicably resolve the border issue, it said.

The chief minister said the border dispute between Mizoram and Assam 'can't be resolved overnight or at one time', but measures should be taken to find solutions to the problems step by step.

The two Assam ministers assured Zoramthanga that the Himanta Biswa Sarma government would take steps to resolve the dispute in such a manner, which is acceptable to the people of both states.

A ministerial-level discussion was held on Tuesday in Aizawl during which both the states agreed to maintain peace and prevent any untoward incident along the border.

Three Mizoram's districts - Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit - share a 164.6-km long boundary with Assam's Hailakandi, Karimganj and Cachar districts.

The border dispute between the two states is a long-standing issue, which stemmed from two colonial demarcations - 1875 and 1933.

At least six policemen and a civilian from Assam died last year, and around 60 people were injured in a clash that took place at a disputed area near the border between the two states.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without any modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)