Alleging inaction by authorities despite repeated representations over the past month, residents of Chungajan in Golaghat district, Assam, have warned of intensified agitation over a gate reportedly bearing the name of Niuland district of Nagaland.
Local protest leader Dipen Gogoi said the structure, said to have been erected at Nabamilanpur village under the Chungajan area, continues to remain in place despite earlier protests and submission of a memorandum to the Assam government.
“Even today the gate bearing the name ‘Niuland district’ remains in place at Nabamilanpur. We have repeatedly urged the government through the media and through protests to address the border issue and protect the rights of the people living here,” Gogoi said, as reported by The Assam Tribune.
Residents had earlier organised a rally on February 17 and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister of Assam through the Deputy Commissioner of Golaghat district, demanding immediate removal of the gate.
Gogoi further pointed out that many residents in border villages are still awaiting land pattas despite years of demands.
“We have been asking the government to resolve long-standing land issues and provide pattas to the people living along the border. Despite repeated appeals, there has been no meaningful response,” he added.
Expressing dissatisfaction over what he described as the lack of progress in resolving the border dispute between Assam and Nagaland, Gogoi remarked that the situation was particularly disappointing given that the BJP is in power in both states as well as at the Centre.
“Even after ten years of BJP rule and a so-called double-engine government, we have not seen any significant progress in resolving the border problem,” he said.
He also referred to recent incidents in the area, claiming that houses belonging to around 95 families were burned in nearby border villages about a month ago.
“Now a gate has been erected in Nabamilanpur demarcating the boundary, yet the Assam government has not taken strong action,” he alleged.
Warning of further agitation, Gogoi said residents may impose a 12-hour road blockade on March 7 from 6 am to 6 pm if the gate is not removed. The proposed blockade would affect roads connecting Chungajan to Dimapur, though he stated that ambulances and schoolchildren would be exempted.
“If the Assam government and the police administration cannot remove the ‘Niuland district’ name from that gate by March 7, then the people will go there and remove it themselves,” he warned. (With inputs from The Assam Tribune)
