Mizoram, Assam to host first ever border festival on November 24 to boost ties

Aizawl, Nov 22: Mizoram and Assam will jointly host their first-ever border festival on November 24, aiming to strengthen goodwill, mutual trust, and friendship between communities on both sides, an official statement said on Friday.

The event, to be held at Dholai in Assam’s Cachar district, was reviewed during a meeting of district officials from both states earlier in the day.

As part of the festival, friendly football and volleyball matches will be organised between teams from Mizoram and Assam to promote unity and sportsmanship. A cultural programme featuring performances by troupes from Mizoram’s Vairengte and Mamit, along with artistes from Cachar, will also be held at the CDC Dholai office ground.

Officials said they hope the day-long event will help strengthen ties among residents living along the inter-state border.

Mizoram’s Aizawl, Kolasib, and Mamit districts share a 164.6-km boundary with Assam’s Cachar, Sribhumi, and Hailakandi districts.

The border dispute between the two states, which mainly stemmed from two conflicting colonial-era demarcations, remained unresolved for decades.

The dispute escalated into violence on several occasions and a clash between police forces of the two states took place near Vairengte village in Mizoram on July 26, 2021, resulting in seven fatalities and numerous injuries.

Since August 2021, the two northeastern states have held four rounds of ministerial-level talks, besides negotiations and virtual meetings at official-level to resolve the decades-old border dispute.

In the last official-level talks held in Guwahati in April this year, both states agreed to maintain the status quo along the disputed areas and to expedite responses to claims made by Mizoram.

Officials said that the next round of official-level talks is being scheduled.

PTI