Aizawl, Nov 21 (PTI) Mizoram and Assam will jointly organise the first border festival on November 24 in an effort to establish good relations, mutual trust and friendships between people of the two neighbouring states, an official statement said on Friday.
The event will be held at Dholai in Assam’s Cachar district, it said.
The district administrations of both states held a meeting at Dholai on Friday to review preparedness for the upcoming festival, the statement said.
The meeting decided that friendly football and volleyball matches will be held on the occasion between teams from the two states, symbolising unity and sportsmanship, it said.
Besides, a cultural programme showcasing dynamic performances by cultural troupes from Mizoram’s Vairengte and Mamit, alongside artistes from Cachar, at CDC Dholai office ground during the proposed day-long event, the statement said.
Officials expressed hope that the upcoming event will cement ties between border residents of the two states.
Three Mizoram districts — Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit — share a 164.6-km-long border with Assam’s Cachar, Sribhumi and Hailakandi districts.
The border dispute between the two states, which mainly stemmed from two conflicting colonial-era demarcations, remained unresolved for decades.
The dispute escalated into violence on several occasions and a clash between police forces of the two states took place near Vairengte village in Mizoram on July 26, 2021, resulting in seven fatalities and numerous injuries.
Since August 2021, the two northeastern states have held four rounds of ministerial-level talks, besides negotiations and virtual meetings at official-level to resolve the decades-old border dispute.
In the last official-level talks held in Guwahati in April this year, both states agreed to maintain the status quo along the disputed areas and to expedite responses to claims made by Mizoram.
Officials said that the next round of official-level talks is being scheduled. PTI CORR ACD
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