MANALI, May 27: The border dispute between Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir is once again in news with cops from Kargil having reportedly established a post 11km inside Himachal at Sarchu, 222km from Manali.
Rejecting the demarcation done by the Survey of India (SI) in 1984 when the boundary between both states was fixed and deputy commissioners of Lahaul-Spiti and Leh had signed the pact, Kargil administration has refused to accept that pact.
Kargil administration says Sarchu comes under its jurisdiction and not Leh’s.
Lahaul-Spiti police received a complaint from Darcha Panchayat Pradhan Sonam Dolma that people of J&K region were “threatening Lahaul residents to leave Sarchu and go back”.
Lahaul-Spiti superintendent of police (SP) Rajesh Dharmani said a police team had visited Sarchu on Saturday to check law and order.
“We are establishing a seasonal check post at Sarchu on May 28. Our cops will keep an eye on all activities there. We shall not tolerate anything against the law. We have come to know that Kargil is claiming nearly 11km land of Himachal,” he said.
According to SP Dharmani, the dispute is around 10 years old and the Himachal government was trying to settle that.
“Police can ensure law and order. The border dispute is being settled by governments of both the states,” he said.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had also tried to resolve the matter and had called on DCs of Lahaul-Spiti and Kargil. However, the deadlock persisted. The matter is now under consideration with the Union government.
Last year the dispute between Kargil and Himachal had taken a new turn after the former claimed land of Himachal at Shinkula.
A person from Kargil district had claimed that the administration had leased out land to him at Palmo, a hamlet of Himachal in Darcha panchayat. Someone had also destroyed a boundary pillar at Sarchu last year.
