Agartala: Tripura and Mizoram are set to resume talks to find a solution to their long-pending interstate border dispute, with senior officials from both states likely to meet soon.The meeting is expected to be held ahead of a proposed dialogue between the two chief ministers.Sources said Tripura CM Manik Saha has initiated a fresh round of discussions to address issues related to the 109-km border shared by the two states. The move follows a conversation between Dr Saha and Mizoram CM Lalduhoma during the 73rd plenary session of the North Eastern Council in Shillong last month.“Tripura CM proposed that before any meeting at the chief ministerial level, senior officials from both states should thoroughly discuss the matter. The consultations will serve as a foundation for subsequent discussions between CMs,” officials said.Tripura shares an 856-km international border with Bangladesh, accounting for nearly 84% of its total boundary. It also shares a 53-km interstate border with Assam and a 109-km border with Mizoram. The Tripura-Mizoram boundary has remained contentious for years, with tensions flaring whenever either state undertakes development or construction work in disputed areas.In May last year, an under-construction tourism facility in Phuldungsei village along the Tripura-Mizoram border in North Tripura district was damaged in an explosion. Police from both states visited the site and took measures to maintain peace.After the incident, Tripura Tourism and Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury chaired a review meeting in Jampui and decided to reconstruct the damaged eco-tourism infrastructure. Residents from both states claimed Phuldungsei as their territory, making it one of the most sensitive stretches along the interstate border.Officials said the tourism project is being developed under the Centre’s Swadesh Darshan scheme at an estimated cost of Rs 3.12 crore, but work has remained stalled for the past couple of years due to the dispute.A security post was set up in the area after the explosion, and the Tripura govt later took up the matter with Mizoram. Officials from North Tripura district, Mizoram’s Mamit district administration and the Survey of India have held several rounds of discussions to identify and resolve disputed stretches.A final settlement, however, is yet to be reached, while some organisations in Mizoram have continued to oppose construction by the Tripura govt in border villages.
