Mizoram’s Kolasib district landowners to block highways from September 25

Aizawl: A landowners' association in Mizoram’s Kolasib district bordering Assam has called for an indefinite blockade of NH-306 and NH-6 from September 25 to exert pressure on the state government to resolve ownership issues concerning land along these national highways.

NH-306 and NH-6 are interlinked routes connecting Mizoram capital Aizawl with Assam's Silchar town. They serve as the primary lifeline for Mizoram, as all essential supplies are transported via these highways.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Kolasib District Land Owners' Association announced that a joint meeting of landowners between Vairengte and Sairang along NH-306 and NH-6 decided to launch the indefinite blockade from September 25.

The association stated that the people of Kolasib have been in conflict with the government over land ownership for more than three years as the state forest department has frozen their long-held lands along the national highways by designating them as roadside reserved areas.

They alleged that due to the ongoing widening project of the national highways into four lanes, the state forest department has declared 800 metres of land on either side of the highways as Roadside Reserve Forest.

The association also alleged that the forest department has never publicly announced or maintained the designation of these 800-metre stretches as Roadside Reserve Forest in the past.

The association urged the state government to withdraw the freeze order on the plots and asserted that they are privately owned.