Assam-Meghalaya border: Umshru bridge work halted, talks fail to settle row

Work on a concrete bridge being built by the Assam government at Umshru (also spelt Umsur) on the Assam-Meghalaya border has been stopped after Meghalaya's administration objected, and a meeting of officials from both sides at the site on Friday ended without a resolution, The Sentinel reported.

The Rs 3.42 crore bridge over the Ukati river is being built in the Palasbari co-district area of Kamrup with World Bank funding. Meghalaya officials visited the site on Thursday, October 30, and asked for construction to be suspended for the time being, according to an Assam Public Works Department official quoted in the report.

What Assam says

On Friday, Palasbari Co-District Commissioner Bhaskarjyoti Kalita went to the site with Revenue Circle Officer Angkita Sarma, Co-District Superintendent of Police Daisy Gogoi and officials of the PWD and the Forest Department. Meghalaya officials were also present.

Kalita told reporters his team had not gone there to pick a fight. He said the Meghalaya Sub-Divisional Officer had contacted him and sent a letter. There had been some apprehension because the area had reportedly been described as an area of difference in the boundary talks, he said, but on examination Assam had found that the location falls within its territory.

The Meghalaya side, according to the report, held that construction should stay suspended until the two state governments decide the matter through talks. The PWD official said work would resume once both sides agree.

Hima Jirang's objection

The halt follows a complaint by Hima Jirang, a traditional Khasi chiefdom in Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi district, which says the bridge site lies within its traditional land. Its leaders inspected the site on October 30 and asked Assam to stop work, objecting in particular to a foundation stone being laid there. A Ri-Bhoi team led by the Patharkhmah Civil Sub-Division SDO also carried out a joint inspection with Assam officials.

Why it matters

Assam and Meghalaya signed an agreement in March 2022 settling six of the twelve areas of difference along their 884-km border. Talks on the remaining six, which are spread over several districts on both sides, are still under way, and development work in these pockets has repeatedly triggered local objections. Residents on the Assam side have questioned why a government-funded project in what they see as their own territory has had to stop.

Neither state government has issued a statement on the Umshru bridge so far.