Western Sumi Kukami Hoho (WSKH) Friday said that it was “immensely irked” at the report of a joint spot verification headed by IGP (Range) Limasunep Jamir along with Peren district administration on September 3, 2021 “at the so called ‘Lamhainamdi’ and some villages of Aqahuto area under Dhansiripar Sub Division, Dimapur district Nagaland.”
In a press release, WSKH president Vihuto Yeptho and general secretary Kawoto Aye described the spot verification as “completely lopsided and biased”. WSKH claimed that though the areas reportedly verified fell within Dimapur district, the verification team “never intimated” the concerned Dimapur district administration or the concerned village/villages of Dimapur district.
WSKH stated that any such exercise without “due concern” of the district administration of both the districts “especially when the issue of boundary demarcation is in pending dispute is considered arbitrary and prejudicial”. It questioned the “real intentions of such one sided exercise” and also the “wisdom of the joint team” over its reported reminder to maintain ‘status quo’.
In this regard, WSKH reminded the verification team that the state chief secretary vide order no. GAV-1/333/2014(Vol-1), dated June 25, 2019 issued a status quo order and in a subsequent order No. CNG-1/45/COM/KHEHOI/2019/785 dated Kohima July 8, 2019 directed that, “if any people are still present in the disputed area, they are to be immediately vacated out of the disputed area…”
The hoho said that the joint team, upon witnessing the “illegal settlement”, ought to have “promptly evicted all illegal settlers at the so called ‘Lamhainamdi’ for illegal settlement”.
WSKH has, therefore, said that the failure to enforce standing government order coupled with “unauthorized directive” of the joint team for maintaining status quo was “prejudicial and bound to further complicate the already existing dispute.”