Shillong, Sept 23: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday said the government is working towards resolving the long-pending inter-state border dispute with Assam, but maintained that an issue persisting for 54 years since statehood cannot be resolved overnight.
His statement comes in the wake of tension along the inter-state border following the Maikhuli incident.
“These border skirmishes have been happening for the last 54 years since our statehood happened. It is not something that happened yesterday or the day before yesterday,” Sangma told reporters.
He said such incidents occur once in a while due to tensions, areas of differences and misunderstandings in border areas.
“Therefore, it is our endeavour to always communicate and coordinate with our counterpart at different levels to ensure that we allow the situation to normalize,” the Chief Minister said.
Sangma said while normalizing the situation at the local level is the immediate priority to ensure peace, the permanent solution lies in resolving the dispute itself.
“In the long run, the best and the only solution is to actually find a permanent solution to this. But that again is not something that happens very easily because it has been an issue that has been there for 54 years,” he stated.
He added that the government has made some headway in certain locations and will continue efforts for the remaining areas.
“As you know, in some of the locations we have been able to make some steps forward and find some kind of resolution. We will continue to work towards finding resolutions for others also, but it is a difficult subject, which is why most governments could not resolve it in the last 54 years,” Sangma said.
