Assam-Mizoram border dispute: Third round of talks to be held on November 4

The third round of inter-state boundary negotiations between Mizoram and Assam will take place on November 4 in Guwahati, a Home Department official said on October 20.

According to the reports, the Assam government informed the Mizoram Home Department on October 20 that a minister-level conference will be held in Guwahati on November 4 to find an amicable solution to the vexing border conflict.

While Home Minister Lalchamliana would lead the Mizoram mission, Assam Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora are scheduled to lead the Assam delegation, he added. Mizoram and Assam share a 164.6-kilometer-long interstate border.

The boundary dispute between the two neighboring states is a long-standing and contentious problem that dates back to two colonial demarcations in 1875 and 1933.

While Mizoram claimed the 509 square mile stretch of territory declared as an inner line reserve forest in 1875 to be its historical border, Assam considered the survey of India's Map to be its constitutional boundary.

Earlier in July, when security personnel from both states exchanged fire in the disputed territory near Vairengte village on the National Highway - 306, six police officers and an Assamese civilians were killed.