Condemning the silence of the state government over the Indo-Myanmar border dispute despite continuous demands to solve the issue, the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Thursday urged the government to halt fixation or erection of subsidiary pillars until the said dispute is finally settled.
Addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan, Imphal, MPCC general secretary (Administration), Hareshwar Goshwami said that the committee has been demanding for settlement of Indo-Myanmar border issue from time to time, submitting memorandum not only to the state government but also to the Central Ministry, the Home Minister, the Prime Minister and the President of India.
In 2013, an all-party delegation led by former chief minister O Ibobi Singh and former deputy chief minister Gaikhangam had submitted a memorandum to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But instead of addressing the issue, the Centre directed the state government for setting up of subsidiary pillars on June 7, 2018.
Later, another memorandum was submitted to President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Home Minister, Rajnath Singh on July 2, 2018, he added.
He further said that as per the statistical hand book of Manipur issued in 2018, the total area of the state is 22,327 sq km which was 22,357 sq km in 1978. The changes in the size of the area also proved that some portion of land has been lost. As such, it is crucial to ascertain where the land has been lost.
Hareshwar continued that the disputed areas in Indo-Myanmar region are Tuivai-Molcham area (border pillar no. 64 to 68), Tamu to Moreh area (border pillar no. 75 to 79) and Choro Khunou area (border pillar no. 88 to 95).
The present Union Minister of State for Education and External Affairs, RK Ranjan had also published a quarterly journal called ‘Regional Integration’ when he was the editor in September, 1982 regarding the dispute in Molcham area, he added.
Manipur being a small state of India, losing a small inch of land is a big loss. As such, the state government should take up appropriate action to protect and preserve the land boundary of the state, he demanded.
