Caught in Assam-Nagaland border dispute, a village in need of electricity

A village along the GolaghatWokha border remains without basic amenities like electricity connection as it is caught in a tug of war between Assam and Nagaland with both states claiming ownership over the landSome distance away the last stretch of road connecting the two states depicts a picture of neglect as it too is trapped in the border dispute between these two neighbours The village is inside the Nagaland Seed Farm premise which is located in a disputed area in Merapani with Assam claiming the land to be under its Golaghat district and Nagaland claiming it as part of the Wokha borderWe are caught in this struggle for control between the two states and are deprived of even basic amenities We dont have any power connection motorable roads or potable water a resident Sajjan Bhengra told PTI He said both Assam and Nagaland governments had tried to provide electricity connection several times and even poles were erectedBut since it comes under the disputed area both governments have to take the consent of their counterpart for any developmental activity and each time the other government put a spanner when one tried to provide electricity Bhengra allegedThe people are voters of Golaghat constituency in Assam but the area where they live is within the demarcated premise of a Nagaland seed farm Established a few years after Nagaland was carved out of Assam the farm is located in the middle of villages of Assam and the entire area is designated as a disputed area where CRPF is deployed to ensure law and orderSushila Baga another villager said she had mentioned the plight of the villagers before their local MLA Ajanta Neog who is the Finance minister of Assam more than once Ajanta baidew elder sister comes for meetings in nearby areas I had myself told her that we dont even have a power connection She assured me of taking it up with Nagaland but nothing has happened yet she lamentedBaga added that about 3040 families in their village were given Rs 7000 each by Neog for installing solar lights but almost all of them ended up using the money for other urgent requirementsThirdgeneration settler Purba Kurwa pointed out that the children were not being able to pursue their education due to a lack of connectivity We did not get the opportunity to study and are now earning through menial labour Now even our children are being deprived of that opportunity The condition of our village has been almost unchanged since our grandparents first settled here he saidAlso read Underage marriages being cancelled due to crackdown Assam CM Himanta Biswa SarmaFamilies belonging to the Adivasi community had come as workers when the seed farm was being set up Somnath Subba an elderly businessman of a nearby village said We see the difficulties these people face with no roads bridges or electricity We request the governments of both the states to sit together and devise a way to provide them with these basic facilities he addedA 800metre stretch connecting Golaghat and Wokha about 8 km from the village is also caught in this dispute between the two neighbours with none of them willing to allow the other to repair it Karim Ali who runs a tea stall beside the road said it was constructed around 1985 when the dispute between the two states had turned bloody and several people including Assam Police personnel were killedThere is severe water logging during the rainy season And during the dry season it gets so dusty that we have to sprinkle water so that we may sit in our shops he added A local official said Nagaland has been willing to repair the stretch but the peace committee of Assam has refused to allow it There is a fear that if Nagaland constructs the road it will claim ownership of the area the official who wished not to be named claimedThe interstate boundary dispute erupted after Nagaland state was carved out of Assam in 1963 The two states share a 5121 kmlong border The Nagaland State Act of 1962 had defined its borders according to a 1925 notification when Naga Hills and Tuensang Area NHTA were integrated into a new administrative unit and made an autonomous areaNagaland however did not accept the boundary delineation and demanded that the new state should comprise the Naga Hills and all Nagadominated areas in Assams then North Cachar and Nagaon districts which were part of Naga territory created by the British according to an 1866 notificationSince Nagaland did not accept its notified borders tensions between Assam and Nagaland soon flared up resulting in the first border clashes in 1965 and this was followed by major clashes between the two states along the border in 1968 1979 1985 2007 and 2014 The Assam government had filed a case in the Supreme Court for the identification of boundary and resolving border disputes which are still pendingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of 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