Correspondent
SHILLONG: Fresh border tensions flared up in Maikhuli village after residents pulled down electricity poles illegally erected by the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB), triggering a heated confrontation between villagers of Meghalaya and Assam. The administration will form a peace committee of elders from both sides, consisting of senior citizens, to ensure harmony and maintain peace. The volatile situation, marked by scuffles and the alleged manhandling of women from Maikhuli, prompted swift intervention from officials of both states to avert further escalation.
Superintendent of Police Ri Bhoi, V.S. Rathore, said, "Not absolutely normal, a bit tense; the situation is calm."
The SP further added, "It was decided that the electric pole will be removed after Independence Day. Friday was Independence Day; early this morning the villagers dismantled the pole themselves. Neither the Assam side nor we were aware, because we have decided to maintain the status quo. In the first place, APDCL shouldn't have installed it; there was a little bit of a slight skirmish between villagers of both Assam and Meghalaya. Nothing with the administration or the police. Then when we got the information, both magistrates immediately talked to each other, I spoke to the DCP of Guwahati, and then we decided to maintain the law and order. We specified the people, and then they dispersed."
"We will form a peace committee of elders from both sides, Assam and Meghalaya, consisting of senior citizens and elders so that the peace is maintained," he said.
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