24-hour rail blockade in Dima Hasao called off
CORRESPONDENT
HAFLONG, Dec 12 - Following the intervention of and assurance from the district administration, the 24-hour rail-blockade called by the All Apex Bodies Coordination Committee (AABCC) in protest against the purported inclusion of Dima Hasao in Nagalim and also the establishment of a satellite council in Dima Hasao was called off after several hours on Tuesday.The rail blockade programme had started peacefully from 6 am wherein thousands of people took part at New Haflong and Maibang stations forcing the Railways to detain trains at Lumding and Badarpur for hours.
At Diyungbra, hundreds of people coming to join the rail blockade were prevented by the police. The people then blocked the road communication in between Lanka- Haflong and also staged a dharna in front the Diyungbra Police station, it is learnt.
The All Apex Bodies Coordination Committee (AABCC) later, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Deputy Commissioner, Dima Hasao which was accepted by the Additional Deputy Commissioner on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner, Dima Hasao in presence of all the office-bearers of AABCC. The memorandum signed by Kailen Daolagupu, president and Sounmang Changsang, general secretary spoke of their deep sense of distress, frustration and insecurity at the proposed secret Framework Agreement between Government of India and the NSCN (IM).
The memorandum stated that Dimapur, which is now part of Nagaland State created in 1963 was the capital of the erstwhile Dimasa Kingdom but annexed by the British East India Company. Adding more territory of the people of Dima Hasao to the proposed Nagalim would be adding insult to injury, which would never be accepted by the people of Dima Hasao district.
It stated that the people of Dima Hasao are totally confused and apprehensive that something might go wrong since ‘the ‘Agreement Framework of NSCN (IM)’ signed on August 3, 2022 has been clocked in a cloak of secrecy.
The AABCC demanded that the Government should immediately act by rectifying the anomalies therein and bring the ‘Greater Nagaland Framework Agreement into the public domain and that “ our land should not be affected in solving the NSCN (IM)’s Greater Nagalim issue.”
The AABCC (All Apex Body Coordination Committee) also refuted in totality the proposed establishment of a satellite council in Dima Hasao for a particular community which is against the interest of other tribes of Dima Hasao who have been living in harmony since time immemorial.
