Assam-Meghalaya border talks put on standby due to COVID-19 crisis: Prestone Tynsong

Shillong: Amid the continuing surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and imposition of curbs to control the outbreak, the Chief Minister-level discussions between Assam and Meghalaya have apparently come to a standstill. The Meghalaya government, which has placed great emphasis on resolving the issue, claims that the COVID-19 situation has caused the talks to take a back seat for the moment.

On Wednesday, Meghalaya's Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said that although Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had sought an appointment with his Assam counterpart Sarbananda Sonowal, because of the COVID-19 situation, the talks have not yet materialized. Asked about when the talks are likely to be held, Tynsong replied, "We got stuck and till today we cannot say anything."

Tynsong stated that Conrad Sangma had also written to his counterpart in Assam for holding talks to resolve the long-pending issue. "But now the focus of any government is to fight COVID-19 as it is more important," Tynsong said.

While the border dispute has been pushed to the backburner due to the COVID-19, Sangma has held meetings with several Central leaders. Conrad Sangma along with other leaders had also visited Manipur on numerous occasions to resolve party issues. Recently, Sangma held a meeting with NPP leaders from Manipur in Guwahati.

There has been a long-standing demand to resolve the border dispute between the two states. On August last, The Regional Democratic Alliance (RDA) of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) have suggested the need for Meghalaya and Assam to resolve the border issues between the neighbouring states, which has been a major bone of contention.

Following a meeting with Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma on Monday, UDP chief adviser and former deputy chief minister Bindo M Lanong stated that the party has expressed before the Conrad Sangma on the need to propose to Assam government to resume the dialogue and make an attempt for a permanent solution of the boundary dispute.

Following this meeting, Sangma had assured that he would take up with Assam to resolve the long-running dispute over contested land. However, the COVID-19 has played the spoilsport yet again.

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