A high-level meeting between Assam and Meghalaya officials has helped ease tensions following the unfortunate incident in Shillong on August 19, with both sides expressing confidence that the situation will gradually return to normal.
Speaking after the meeting, Assam Minister Atul Bora described the discussions as “very good” and said senior officials from both states participated in the effort to address the issues that had emerged between the two sides.
From Assam, the meeting was attended by Ajoy Tiwari, Additional Secretary, Home Department; the Special Additional Director General of Police; IGPs Okila Singh and Ratna Singh; Akash Deep, Commissioner and Secretary, Transport Department; Manavendra Pratap Singh, Commissioner; and other senior officials.
The Meghalaya delegation was led by the state’s Deputy Chief Minister and included the Principal Secretary of Home, Commissioner Secretary of Home, Commissioner Secretary of Transport, IGP Law and Order, IGP SB, DC Shillong, Commissioner of Tourism and other senior officials.
Bora said the meeting followed immediate intervention by the chief ministers of both states after the August 19 incident.
“Immediately after the incident, our Honorable Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma gave me a call. He asked me to communicate with the counterpart and have a discussion within a short span of time,” Bora said.
He added that Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma also tasked his Deputy Chief Minister to engage with the Assam side, leading to the first round of discussions in Guwahati on August 22.
Following that meeting, Bora said he personally met protesters who had gathered at a ticketing counter in Churachandpur and persuaded them to withdraw their protest.
“I met them, I convinced them, and immediately they have withdrawn also after hearing, after discussing with me,” he said.
The Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister subsequently held discussions with associations in the state. In the latest meeting, representatives of seven associations from Assam and five associations from Meghalaya participated, with Bora saying that the stakeholders were “more or less happy” with the progress.
While acknowledging that it would take time to resolve all the outstanding issues, Bora said the immediate situation had improved considerably.
“Now the situation is completely calm and quite peaceful. No harassment from both sides. So, I think, gradually, the situation will be normalized,” he said.