Bhandari, 10 May (MTNews): MLA and Chairman of Bhandari SDPDB, Achumbemo Kikon, accompanied by Border Magistrate Bhandari, Commandant 7th NAP Bhandari, SDPO Bhandari, and OC Changpang visited Longtsiri village on 10 May 2024 to assess the situation arising from the interference by the Assam Police in the ongoing construction by the Longtsiri inhabitants on their ancestral village land in the foothill area.
According to an update, MLA Kikon asserted that the foothill area within the periphery of the Kakatanga forest falls within the Lotha Naga ancestral land. Therefore, as per the 1972 Interim Agreement between the Government of Assam and the Government of Nagaland, “Any land in Kakatanga forest which was already in occupation of the Nagas wherever they may be shall not be disturbed during the period of this agreement.”
“The recent intrusion perpetrated by the Assam Police is, in fact, illegal and a clear violation of the 1972 Agreement between the two neighboring states,” the update stated. The MLA cautioned that if such ulterior attempts are made in the near future by the Assam Police, it shall be considered a “breach of peaceful coexistence and shall not be tolerated in any manner.”