Likabali: Hundreds of residents hailing from Durpai, Champak Chojo, and Sogum villages, located in the Lower Siang district, came together under the banner of the Durpai Youth Welfare Association, demanding that the authorities reconsider the implementation of the looping system concerning the Assam-Arunachal boundary issue.
Displaying banners and chanting slogans, the people converged at the DC office and called upon Chief Minister Pema Khandu to reverse the decision that entails allocating roughly 60 sq. km of land, through the looping system, from Durapi village to Assam.
Speaking to the media, the president of the Durpai Village Development Committee left no room for ambiguity as he staunchly rejected any proposition of relinquishing even an inch of their ancestral land to Assam.
“We categorically oppose being made sacrificial lambs in the quest to resolve the boundary issue outside the courtroom. Our resolute demand is the preservation of the ‘as it were is’ principle,” he said.
He went on to emphasise the historical and economic significance of the land, which has been passed down through generations and forms the bedrock of their livelihoods. Consequently, any compromise was deemed untenable.
A formal memorandum outlining their demands was submitted to the state government via the DC Lower Siang.
The demands encompassed an immediate rollback of the Loop Mapping affecting Durapi, Champak Chajo & Sogum villages, the nullification of the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked by the chief ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, and an urgent on-site visit by both chief ministers to assess the situation, with a firm commitment to maintaining the status quo in the boundary areas.
The villagers issued a stern warning, indicating their intent to organise a foot march from their villages to Itanagar. Additionally, they vowed to initiate a hunger strike and stage demonstrations outside the Raj Bhavan and the Secretariat/CM residence if their demands were not addressed soon.
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Another youth leader, drawing attention to the gravity of the situation, cautioned that the government’s failure to heed the villagers’ plea could potentially trigger a civil conflict of greater magnitude than the ongoing crisis in Manipur.
Advocate and public leader Iken Tao, while addressing the media, disclosed plans to initiate legal proceedings in the Supreme Court, challenging the Loop Map system, which, in their view, infringes upon the legitimate claims of villagers to their ancestral lands.
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