Diphu : Tensions along the volatile Assam-Meghalaya border escalated today after Khasi residents of Mokru (also known as Mukroh) village in West Karbi Anglong reportedly disrupted ongoing national census operations and threatened an enumerator with physical assault.

The incident unfolded on Monday morning when Assam government officials visited local households to gather demographic data. Local residents obstructed the enumeration work, asserting that the jurisdiction lies with Meghalaya rather than Assam or the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC). Local residents defended their resistance by highlighting their administrative alignment with Shillong over Dispur.

“We do not fall under the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council or Assam’s administration,” argued an agitated local resident during the standoff. “The Meghalaya government has been providing us with essential welfare benefits, PMAY housing, and schemes for years. We have received nothing from Assam.”

Field officials confirmed that the enumeration team faced direct intimidation. “Our team was conducting routine household data collection when a group of residents surrounded us, physically threatened our staff, and ordered us to halt work immediately,” stated a census official deployed in West Karbi Anglong.

The dispute underscores a persistent administrative paradox along the border, where several Khasi inhabitants living within territory claimed by Assam cast votes in Meghalaya elections while drawing state benefits from Meghalaya’s West Jaintia Hills district administration.

Mokru has long been a flashpoint in the decades-old border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya. The area previously witnessed severe violence in November 2022 when six individuals lost their lives during a clash between local villagers and Assam police and forest personnel.

While both state governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2022 to resolve six out of twelve disputed border sectors, complex zones like Block-I and Block-II—where Mokru is situated—remain subject to ongoing negotiations. Today’s disruption highlights how unresolved territorial boundaries continue to hinder basic administrative functions on the ground.