Headlines       Vol. 1 Issue 38-39

Mar 7 - Mar 21 , 1999

Claim for UT status to Arunachal Dists. gathers momentum The demand to accord Union Territory status to Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh is gaining grounds. Recently at a public rally at Khonsa, secretary of the Union Territory Demand Committee Wangdi Hakhum demanded bifurcation of the two districts and also submitted a memorandum to the President. The demand committee was formed in January this year to protest the neglect and economic deprivation of the two districts. Legislators from the two districts had resigned over the issue leading to the eventual ouster of the Gegong Apang Government. While Gegong Apang saw the hand of the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) behind the demand, Arunachal Pradesh Finance Minister L. Wanglat, who hails from Tirap, said that the demand was a genuine one. “The demand for a Union Territory is justified and within the framework of the Constitution,” Mr. Wanglat said. He accused that the previous government had created regional imbalances which had isolated the people of Tirap and Chamling. Almost similar sentiments were echoed at the public meeting where the speakers felt that these two districts felt alienated from the power centre in Itanagar because of its remote geographical location on the Indo-Myanmar border. They were also of the view that two other districts, Lohit and Dibang, could also follow suit and also demand bifurcation.

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