Poonam Nath

Chaos At Lapangap: Mob Destroys Saplings Amid Assam-Meghalaya Border Row

Digital Desk: Tensions once again flared at the volatile Assam-Meghalaya border after a mob of around 400 people from Meghalaya reportedly uprooted newly planted saplings in the disputed Lapangap village area.

The tragic incident unfolded during a plantation campaign by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC). Lapangap is one of 12 contentious locations along the 884.9-kilometer Assam-Meghalaya border. Six zones were largely addressed through a 2022 agreement, and the remaining six, including Lapangap, remain in dispute.

Around 11 a.m., protestors, backed by local villagers and members of many social organizations, including the Khasi Students' Union (KSU), objected that Assam was encroaching on Meghalayan territory through planting.

The West Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya and the Karbi Anglong district of Assam both claim the hill where the cultivation took place. This makes it an important point of hassle in the long-running border dispute between the two states.

Abhinav Kumar Singh, the district commissioner of West Jaintia Hills, stated that the situation was under control shortly after the police were called in. He also stated "We had advised people not to visit the site since a peace meeting was scheduled for today, but it didn't take place as Assam officials failed to show up,"

Police and administrative authorities from both states went to the spot, where the Assam police reportedly used tear gas, to prevent any violence in the area.

A peace meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, with district administrations pushing for village-level negotiations with local headmen and councils, emphasizing the importance of regular interaction in resolving the decades-long territorial dispute peacefully.