Aizawl/Silchar (Assam), (Samajweekly) Mizoram on Wednesday complained to the Union Home Ministry that an “economic blockade” by Assam on from Monday and “destruction” of railway lines on Tuesday badly affected supply of essentials and foodgrains to the state.
Monday’s violent border clashes and firing along Assam-Mizoram border left six Assam Police personnel dead and around 100 civilians and security personnel of the two neighbouring states injured, including an Inspector General of Police in Assam and Cachar Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Chandrakant Nimbalkar.
In her letter to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Home Secretary Pi Lalbiaksangi said that the National Highways and railway lines are owned and managed by the Central government and no state agency and entity or the general public has any right to block them and restrict the movement of people and goods through them.
She requested that the Centre may intervene and instruct the Assam government to take necessary action for the immediate removal of the blockade to ensure resumption of the movement of goods and passengers along the NH and railways.
“The NH 306 and other roads connecting Mizoram with other parts of the country via Assam have been blocked by Assam from Monday. The NH-306 is the lifeline of Mizoram for ferrying essential commodities and fuels. The blockade is affecting the livelihood of the people of Mizoram adversely. Movement of vehicles along other routes connecting Mizoram and Assam have also been blocked inside Assam,” Lalbiaksangi said.
She said that a “state-sponsored economic blockade” was earlier imposed by Assam from October 17 to November 11 last year and “that 26-day blockade had seriously affected the livelihood of the people of Mizoram, resulting in various hardships”.
“Incidents like this have occurred numerous times in the past in connection with other incidents. Further, it is also reported that unknown miscreants from Assam have destroyed the Mizoram-bound railway tracks at Mohammedpur Railway station and Ramnathpur in Assam.”
Meanwhile, a 12 hour shutdown, called by local party Barak Democratic Front, to protest the Monday’s violent border firing and clashes, crippled normal life, business activities and official works on Wednesday in the three Assam districts — Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi — bordering Mizoram.
In another incident, the Assam Police on Wednesday did not allow a seven member Congress team led by state party President Bhupen Kumar Bora to visit the trouble-torn bordering areas.
The delegation, which also included Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia, was stopped at Dholai Bazar and not allowed to proceed further.
The Congress vehemently condemned the banning of visit of the party delegation.
Bora told the media that it is a big conspiracy of the BJP government to not allow opposition leaders to go to the site of the violence while allowing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other leaders of the ruling BJP to do so.
