The blockade in National Highway 306 at the Assam-Mizoram border entered the fourth day on Saturday starving the later of essential supplies, although the tension has been eased with the intervention of the Center between the two states.
Locals on the Assam side are not allowing trucks carrying goods to enter Mizoram. They want that state to withdraw its security forces posted at the border; the Mizoram government has simply refused to oblige, accusing officials of the Assam government of instigating the fresh blockade. Mizoram claims it is protecting its historical boundary.
Social media photos showing Mizoram's security forces digging up trenches and building bunkers along the border are not helping the matter in any way.
The issue took a turn for the worse on Friday after the Mizoram government announced that it won't be withdrawing its security personnel.
Agitators in southern Assam, too, refused to call off their blockade, now in its fourth day, till Mizoram withdraws its security personnel.
According to a release issued by the Assam government, it said that Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya had visited the troubled areas along the inter-state border to allay locals' fears. He urged them not to panic, saying the government was making all efforts to resolve the dispute.
