The governments of Assam and Meghalaya, at a joint meeting held at the Koinadhara State Guest House on Saturday, agreed to complete the evacuation of stranded Assam-bound passengers and vehicles from Meghalaya within 48 hours.
The meeting, which lasted more than three hours, was led by Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister S. Dhar and Assam Minister Atul Bora, along with senior officials from both states.
Meghalaya also assured Assam that strong action would be taken against those involved in the August 19 violence. Expressing regret over the incident, the Meghalaya government said those responsible for the chaos would face action. The president and vice-president of the Khasi Students’ Union have been arrested under the Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order Act. So far, 15 FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence. Five masked persons have been identified in connection with the attacks, particularly those targeting Assamese medical students.
An SIT has also been constituted to identify all those involved in the violence.More than 3,770 Assam-registered vehicles are to be escorted out of Meghalaya. The South Kanfrol road has received 54 distress calls involving 175 people, including occupants of 22 private vehicles and five tourist vehicles.
In a bid to ensure continued coordination, the two states have decided to establish a dedicated mechanism between the IG Special Crime, Assam, and the IG Law and Order, Meghalaya, supported by dedicated helplines and an online support forum. The mechanism will remain operational until the situation is fully normalised.The states have also decided to constitute a permanent district-level joint committee involving the deputy commissioners of Nongpoh and Kamrup Metropolitan districts, along with police officials from both sides, to address day-to-day issues along the interstate borders.
Besides, the tourism sector will constitute a joint committee on tourist transport comprising senior transport authorities from both states and representatives of tourist vehicle associations. The committee will regulate tourist vehicle movement and work towards safeguarding the shared tourism interests of Assam and Meghalaya.
The decisions come in the wake of attacks on Assam-registered vehicles on August 19, which led to tensions and disruptions along the interstate border.