Land encroachment allegations have caused tensions at the Assam-Arunachal border.

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jul 19, 2022 | Sourav Boruah

 Digital Desk: Tension in the disputed interstate border area has
been caused by a group of people in Assam's Dhemaji district who claim certain
residents of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh have encroached on their territory.

According to a senior officer, they alleged that some residents
of Arunachal Pradesh had walled off and built an agricultural farm on
restricted forest property at Panbari.

Locals on the Assam side had protested it and taken down the
barrier, he claimed, while on Monday night some individuals from Arunachal
Pradesh attacked an Assamese family and stole their motorcycle.

The officer added that Dhemaji police officers from the
Bordoloni station hurried to the scene and that talks between the officials of
the two states also took place.

He said that "the situation has been brought under
control" and added that a careful vigil is being kept in the vicinity.

After signing the "Namsai Declaration" on July 15 in
which they vowed to settle the border problems between the two states, Assam
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal counterpart Pema Khandu,
the incident took place just three days later.

The two governments also agreed to limit the number of
"disputed communities" from the previous 123 to 86 and to work toward
a resolution by September 15.

The boundary between the two states is 804.1 kilometres
long.

Arunachal Pradesh, which became a union territory in 1972,
has a complaint that Assam was arbitrarily given control over a number of
forested tracts on the lowlands that had historically belonged to hill tribal
chiefs and clans.

A tripartite committee was established following the
statehood of Arunachal Pradesh in 1987, and it made recommendations for the
transfer of several Assamese regions to Arunachal Pradesh.

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in this case after
Assam objected.