Reports on moving India-Myanmar border pillars baseless

The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday denied any change in the demarcation of the Indo-Myanmar boundary after a local unrest was reported in the border town of Moreh in Manipur over alleged shifting of an India-Myanmar border pillar inside Indian territory.

One of the pillars was removed in order to put in place more of subsidiary boundary-demarcation posts between two pillars (pillar number 81 and 82) along the zero line, officials explained. The work was undertaken in consonance with the provisions of the India- Myanmar Boundary Agreement of 1967.

But the work gave rise to tension at the local level as people feared they would lose their land once the work is completed. This led to the local administration to impose prohibitory orders.

“Recently, routine survey work was carried out jointly by the Indian and Myanmar survey departments during which work on the construction of subsidiary pillars in between already settled main boundary pillars 81 and 82 was undertaken,” Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said.

This was done with the objective of apprising the local residents on both sides of the border of the exact alignment of the international boundary, he said.

The Manipur government was involved in the entire exercise. “We have come across media reports stating that certain boundary pillars in the Manipur sector of the India-Myanmar international boundary have been allegedly shifted. These reports are completely baseless and unsubstantiated. This sector of the international boundary is settled and there is no confusion as to its alignment,” Kumar said.

India and Myanmar share an unfenced border of 1,643 Km. which runs through the States of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh with a Free Movement Regime up to 16 km across the international border.

While there is no boundary dispute between India and Myanmar, there are few unresolved boundary pillars along the India-Myanmar Border in Manipur sector. The two sides are in talks to resolve the disputes on the location of these pillars.

Several Manipur ministers had visited the troubled spot near Moreh.