Aizawl: On January 10, Mizoram's opposition party, Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), appeals to the state government to safeguard broomstick growers so that they can reap their harvest.
In a statement, the party stated that many broomstick farmers in the Aitlang area near Vairengte, a disputed land along the State's boundary with Assam, are experiencing severe crisis as the Assam Police have been occupying their farmlands.
Farmers will be unable to harvest their crops unless they are given security, added the statement.
Moreover, the statement said that there are more than 18 farmers in the Aitlang area, and Assam and Mizoram police have been camping there since June last year.
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Further, the ZPM alleged that the Assam Police refused to allow the areca nut farmers in Saihapui 'V' village to collect their produce. Notably, it is one of the contested regions in the Kolasib district.
It claimed that Assam Police officers hired laborers to pluck betel nuts from these plantations.
The ZPM requested the government to protect the farmers so that they could harvest their crops freely.
Mizoram and Assam share a 164.6-kilometer inter-State border. The disagreement over the border between the two northeastern states has been going on for a long time, stemming from two colonial demarcations in 1875 and 1933.
Last year on July 26, the border issue took an ugly turn when police units from both states engaged in a gunfight at Vairengte village, resulting in the deaths of six police officers, including civilians from Assam.
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