Border row: Gaikhangam sees no fault
Source: Hueiyen News Service / NNN

Imphal, October 22 2013: Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam today expressed doubt that the Indo-Myanmar Border Fencing was done without fault demarcation.

However, he admitted that his statement will not be taken for validation.

An all political parties team led by Gaikhangam on Tuesday visited Moreh in Chandel district where it made a spot assessment of the Indo-Myanmar Border Fencing after the Congress Government headed by O Ibobi Singh faced a mounting pressure from various quarters over reported loss of Manipur's land to neighbouring Myanmar on account of the ongoing border fencing work.

Talking to a section of media accompanying the team, Gaikhangam said that a memorandum containing the finding of the team will be submitted to the Central Government for patching up all the defects in the Indo-Myanmar Border Fencing.

A delegation led by Chief Minister Ibobi will visit New Delhi soon to pass on the memorandum to the Central Government, he added.

Border row: Gaikhangam sees no fault

Gaikhangam, however, expressed doubt that the Indo-Myanmar Border Fencing work has been done along the exact border line in the villages of Haolenphai, Govajang and Muslim Basti and at the same time admitted that his statement is only an off-hand statement.

Gaikhangam said, "Tuesday's inspection visit has cleared that we stand together against any possible loss of our land on account of the border fencing" .

On Tuesday, the Committee on Protection of Land in Border Fencing, Manipur submitted a memorandum to the all political party demanding that the exact boundary line of Manipur sector of the border in Moreh must be identified before allowing the Assam Rifles and the BRTFF to continue further construction of the fencing.

All the works relating to construction of the fencing including development of road on which the fencing is to come up should be stopped within one week, it further demanded.

The committee also said it urges the all political party committee to put pressure on the state and the Central Govt to initiate necessary diplomatic process to conduct joint re-survey and re-demarcation of the Indo-Myanmar boundary along with the Myanmarese authority as per the Boundary Agreement of 1967 .

Chief Minister Ibobi had earlier on October 10 last convened an all parties meeting to discuss about the Indo-Myanmar Border Fencing now in dispute and Tuesday's visit to the border came after the meeting.

Political parties in the state have also been pushing for a re-survey of the Indo-Myanmar Border Fencing and an immediate halt to the erection of fencing.

The erection of fencing along the international boundary has become a contentious issue in the state after reports that for the purpose Manipur has ceded its land to its neighbour that shares a 398 km long border with India.

Yesterday, one day ahead of the Indo-Myanmar border visit by the all parties team, a joint team of six social organizations led by the All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation (AMUCU) visited the Moreh to oversee the fencing erection.

After the visit, AMUCO had threatened the state Government that it would drag it to the law court if the border fencing was not discontinued without delay.