Kohima: Following an agreement signed by the chief secretaries of Nagaland and Assam to de-escalate the border stand-off at Dessoi Valley Reserved Forest and Tsurangkong valley, the two states have agreed to monitor the disputed border areas with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and satellite imagery to maintain status quo.
The agreement was signed between the two states by Nagaland Chief Secretary J Alam and Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua on Saturday at Chumukedima Police House, in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Nagaland and Home minister Y Patton and Assam Education Minister Ranuj Pegu.
Both the states agreed that the Superintendents of Police of the districts of Mokokchung in Nagaland and Jorhat in Assam will ensure orderly withdrawal of the respective forces and be responsible for it in the instant case.
As reported earlier, the two states have agreed to maintain peace and tranquility in the areas around Ao Senden Village and Vikuto Village as they are known in Nagaland and known as Jankhona Nala/Nagajankha and Compartment No.12, respectively, in Assam, with urgent and effective steps required to diffuse the stand-off between the security forces of Nagaland and Assam.
Also Read | Assam-Nagaland to withdraw troops from disputed border areas
In this regard, it was decided by both sides that security personnel of both states shall simultaneously move back from their present locations to their respective base camps in the next 24 hours as far as possible.
During the meeting, Patton appreciated Pegu and Barua for coming all the way to Nagaland to sign the agreement. He said that the signing of the agreement for simultaneous withdrawal of security personnel was decided after an interaction with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 24 and 25.
Patton also requested the Assam counterpart for safe passage of Naga commuters not only in some particular gates but from all the gates to ensure travellers are not harassed.
Meanwhile, Pegu congratulated Shah, Patton and the chief ministers of both Nagaland and Assam for their statesmanship in resolving the border issue. Pegu was also optimistic that cordial relations between the two states would prevail, as per an official update from the state government.
Also Read | Nagaland, Assam police forces agree to withdraw from border
