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Post-NRC scenario in Nagaland: Local bodies fear influx of migrants

By Correspondent

DIMAPUR, Sept 2 - Perturbed over exclusion of more than 19 lakh people in the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, the Naga Students� Federation (NSF) on Monday expressed deep anguish at the Nagaland government over its inaction in implementing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Dimapur and for allowing the district to flourish as the floodgate of illegal immigrants.

NSF president Ninoto Awomi and general secretary Liremo Kikon, in a release, said that the influx of non-locals and illegal immigrants to Nagaland is expected to increase sharply in the coming days.

It reiterated that the �poorly enforced� ILP regime in Nagaland and the impending exodus of illegal immigrants from the neighbouring states were posing as the biggest demographic threat to the indigenous inhabitants of the state.

The NSF said that lack of stringent implementation of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) 1873, and the exclusion of Dimapur district from the purview of ILP have made Dimapur district a safe haven for illegal immigrants. There is an imminent threat to the Naga indigenous inhabitants being outnumbered by illegal immigrants via Dimapur district, it said.

The federation said it was of paramount importance for the Nagaland government to exercise strong political will and immediately implement the ILP regime in Dimapur district as passed in the Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly on February 21 and as endorsed in the Abhijit Singh ILP Committee recommendation. It demanded that the Nagaland government enforce stringent check of ILP at all check-gates and Nagaland Police impose strong punitive measures on defaulters. The NSF also appealed to its units and all Naga citizens to remain vigilant on the influx of non-locals and illegal immigrants.

The federation said it has been extensively conducting verification of ILP holders in various districts for the past many years.

However, it said that lapses and lack of sincerity in the state government in the implementation of ILP in its entirety has done irreparable damage to the cultural, economic and demographic aspects, negating the very purpose of the BEFR Act, which was enacted to protect and safeguard the Naga ethnicity as an entity of the land and resources from the outsiders.

The Central Nagaland Tribes Council has also expressed apprehension about arrival of people excluded from the NRC. In a statement, the council urged the Nagaland government to take preventive measures immediately because those immigrants, who did not make it to the final NRC, would try to infiltrate into Nagaland and get a foothold. It also asked all gaonburahs and chairmen of colony councils to remain alert so that illegal immigrants do not stay in their localities, especially in foothill areas along the Assam-Nagaland border.

Without depending only on the authorities, every citizen should keep vigil and be responsible, the council said. Urging local authorities not to issue any documents to non-locals at this juncture, the council demanded strict checking of ILP by the police at every entry point. It said that the rights and future of the indigenous citizens must be protected by any means.

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