On Sunday morning, intruders from Assam destroyed plantations worth lakhs of rupees in Yajang C village. Following this, the villagers, along with IRP personnel, returned to the same location on Monday, remaining vigilant, but found no movement from the Assam side, according to Imtionen, Chairman of the Yajang C Village Council.
Later in the day, the EAC of Longchem and Mangkolemba SDO arrived for spot verification and informed the villagers that they would report the matter to higher ups.
When asked if there had been any discussion about compensation for the damaged crops, Onen stated that he had asked the EAC to provide them with ‘disaster management forms.’
“The ADC of Mangkolemba and the Border Magistrate of Tzurangkong will be visiting the site tomorrow. So, we’ll see how things go from here. The EAC has agreed to discuss this with the DC of Mokokchung,” he stated.
He went on to say that it would be best if the officials from both sides met and talked it out, as this has never happened before.
“We simply hope that the competent authority makes the right decision. So far, they have always responded to our reports and we are grateful, but we anticipate a better solution in the coming days,” he concluded.
The border tension in the area was last reported in 2015, the council chairman said, but what happened on Sunday morning was the culmination of a series of incidents that had been building up since April 2022.
According to the council chairman, the first incident occurred in April 2022, when plantations in two farms were destroyed on a Sunday morning. The villagers, on the other hand, paid no attention at that time.
Then, in May 2022, a similar incident occurred, affecting two farms once more. As a result, the administration stepped in and suggested that police officers patrol the area.
According to the Chairman, on Tuesday morning, June 21, a group of about ten police officers and members of the public from Rankhom Gaon came to their hut and asked the women in the farm to stop cultivating the fields claiming that the land belongs to Assam.
“I wasn’t in the field when they arrived. My wife and a few of our helpers were present. They stole our agricultural tools and saplings and told them to notify their men to retrieve the materials from the Assam police camp,” he narrated.
However, he claimed that the villagers ignored their demand, which was followed by the Sunday incident.
“They are aware that we are Christians who attend church on Sundays. As a result, they only commit mischief on Sundays. The fact that they cannot approach us during the week and only do so on Sundays speaks volumes about their malice,” he concluded.