Highway connecting Mizoram blocked by locals in Assam after firing on the border

The movement of vehicles and goods to Mizoram has been severely affected since Tuesday due to a blockade on a stretch of NH-306 by locals in Assam's Cachar district, who are angry over Monday's firing on the Assam-Mizoram border.

Six Assam policemen died and 41 others were injured in the firing by Mizoram police during a clash on the inter-state border with Lailapur in Assam's Cachar district and Vairengte in Kolasib district of Mizoram.

Mizoram on Wednesday shot a letter to the Union Home Ministry in which it stated that the NH-306 has been blocked and the only railway line connecting Bairabi in Mizoram has been damaged by miscreants in Assam's Karimganj district.

Karimganj also shares border with Mizoram.

Read more: Assam-Mizoram border tense though peaceful, bandh in Assam hits trucking to Mizoram

The letter also said that roads connecting Mizoram have also been blocked inside Assam affecting the movement of vehicles and goods.

"The NH-306 is the main highway for transportation of essential commodities and other goods. The blockade has already affected life and livelihood adversely in Mizoram," said the letter signed by Lalbiaksangi, Mizoram home secretary. The letter was addressed to the Union secretary.

The letter further said a "state-sponsored" blockade in Assam between October 17 and November 11 last year following a clash on the border had crippled life and livelihood in Mizoram.

"The national highways and the railway are national properties and are owned and managed by the Centre. No state agency/entity or general public has the right to block them affecting the movement of people and goods," it said.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday appealed to the locals not to resort to blockade as that would cause miseries to common people only.

This comes on a day the Union Home Secretary held a meeting with chief secretaries of both Mizoram and Assam in New Delhi for finding a solution to the long border dispute.

Mizoram CM Zoramthanga, in a tweet, said, "I sincerely request all to stay calm and promote peace in this time of great difficulty. #Mizoram hope for an amicable solution with the help of intervention from the Central Government." He tagged PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.