From Sandeep Sharma
GUWAHATI: A day after the forest protection camp was set up with the assistance of Assam Police at the interstate border at Mariani, a high level police team led by IGP Anurag Agarwala visited the spot to take stock of the situation.
Agarwala accompanied by DIG V Shiv Prasad Ganjawala and Jorhat SP Ankur Jain also had a talk with an SDO and additional deputy commissioner from Mokokchung, Nagaland at the spot.
The discussion was about maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border.
Agarwala said that a proposal had been put forth for holding high level talks between both the states to resolve all the contentious border issues and that this is likely to take place soon.
He added that he had come to take stock of the police force that is stationed there to assist and protect the forest personnel at the camp and to look into the logistics and supply lines to the camp located in the difficult terrain.
DIG (Eastern Range) V Shiv Prasad Ganjawala said that a large police force had been stationed to assist the forest personnel as they were few in number.
“Apart from the destruction of forests for plantations by Naga miscreants a month ago, they had further destroyed and cleared 300 meter of forests a few days ago and constructed a road deep into the forest with JCBs barely 1.5 kms away from where our forest camp has now been set up,” he said.
“Even now during the monsoons there is no greenery to be seen if you see the Dissoi Valley Reserve Forest from ground level. The encroachers disappeared as soon as the forest camp was set up,” he added.
The DIG added that due to the uncooperative attitude of their Nagaland counterparts, a high level talk could not be held as had been suggested by Special DGP GP Singh during his visit on May 28, right after the shooting of former Mariani MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi had taken place on May 27.
Meanwhile, All Jorhat District Student Union (AJDSU) has sought that the government establish a high-level administrative office of the Jorhat district administration at Mariani near the Assam-Nagaland border to keep a close watch on the situation along the inter-state boundary and to respond more swiftly to attempts by Nagaland side to encroach Assam land.
The student body sought better facilities for police personnel deployed along the border, also stated that the proposed office near the border could be used to monitor proposed infrastructure development like construction of roads, power supply connections to families, developing health care facilities for villagers residing near the border.
The camp has been set up at the spot where Rupjyoti Kurmi had been shot at by miscreants from Nagaland at the interstate border at Balijan Pahar in his constituency on May 27.
Kurmi who had been accompanied by his PSOs, police personnel from New Sonowal BOP and a few reporters was forced to flee, many of them sustaining injuries.
