AIZAWL: After a prolonged delay, the Assam Rifles battalion would be shifted from the heart of Aizawl to its new designated complex at Zokhawsang , said Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday. The new complex is about 15 km east of Aizawl.
According to the lone Lok Sabha member from Mizoram C Lalrosanga, the MNF MP, Union minister Shah had said the Assam Rifles battalion would be definitely shifted, during a meeting with him in his residence in Delhi.
However, the exact date when the Assam Rifles would move lock, stock and barrel to Zokhawsang was not mentioned by Shah, said Lalrosanga from New Delhi.
Reportedly, Lalrosanga thanked Shah and the central government for their resolve to shift the Assam Rifles from the heart of Aizawl city as the the issue had for many times been discussed by the state government with the central ministers and MHA officials.
"When I expressed my desire that they (the Assam Rifles) should shift to the new complex during a time frame, Shah assured me that they would be shifted," he said.
Shah also told the MNF MP that he would visit Aizawl to inaugurate a number of projects, including the new headquarters of the Assam Rifles battalion at Zokhawsang, and lay the foundation of Laldenga Cultural Centre.
Mizoram is all set to welcome the Union home minister on his scheduled visit to Aizawl on Saturday and all preparations are in place to receive him. While the Assam Rifles battalion is now ready to shift from the heart of Aizawl city to Zokhawsanga, the shifting had been delayed by the paramilitary force for decades on one pretext or the other.
The then chief minister Laldenga first argued for the transfer of the Assam Rifles in 1988, following a confrontation in which the central paramilitary force claimed seven civilian lives when they were gunned down, creating a chaotic situation.
Even after the allocation of a huge amount of funds for shifting from the MHA earlier, years have since gone by due to repeated delays by the Assam Rifles.
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