Thursday, March 18, 2010

Nagaland warned over encroachment

Guwahati, March 18: The All Assam Students’ Union today threatened to launch an economic blockade against Nagaland if the neighbouring state continued to encroach upon Assam’s land.

The Sivasagar district unit of the students’ union alleged that despite its repeated requests to the Naga people not to encroach upon Assam’s land in the Geleki area, the Nagas had not stopped construction.

“The Nagas should not take our silence as acceptance, we will forget our brotherly relations if they continue to grab our land,” the president of the Sivasagar district unit of AASU, Pranab Chetia, said today.

He said vast areas in Geleki bordering Nagaland in Sivasagar district were encroached upon by the villagers from the state. According to him, if the authorities concerned take no steps these areas will be lost forever.

The student body, he said, would not wait and watch any more and would soon launch an economic blockade against the neighbouring state.

He said besides the Sonari-Namtola Road that leads to Mon district of Nagaland, the blockade would also cover the Jorhat-Mariani Road, connecting Mokok-chung district of Nagaland and National Highway 39, which connects Dimapur town, the commercial hub of Nagaland.

Most of the essential commodities are ferried to Nagaland from the wholesale markets in Assam on these three roads.

The adviser to the Sivasagar district of AASU, Kushal Dutta, said it was a shame on part of the state government that no steps were being taken to stop villagers from Naga-land from grabbing Assam’s land.

He said besides Sivasagar district, the Nagas had encroached upon reserve forest lands in Jorhat district also.

“More than 80 per cent of the land in Desoi Valley, Desoi and Tiru Hills reserve forest under the Mariani forest range in Jorhat district are under the occupation of the Nagas,” he said.

Source:http://www.telegraphindia.com/

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