Five Army personnel are missing after a flash flood in Arunachal Pradesh's Dibang Valley, while four people died in a landslide in Upper Subansiri district. Both incidents occurred on Friday evening, triggering extensive search and rescue operations involving multiple agencies.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has stated his government will verify reports of alleged Chinese incursions in the Taksing sector of Upper Subansiri district. The claims, made by the Nah Welfare Society, suggest Chinese PLA personnel entered areas near villages close to the Line of Actual Control. Khandu plans to consult with the Indian Army and local bodies before drawing conclusions, while the Army previously rejected similar allegations from the NWS.
Arunachal Pradesh MP Tapir Gao underscores the critical importance of heeding local warnings regarding alleged Chinese incursions along the Line of Actual Control, amidst ongoing border tensions and official denials.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is in Beijing for the 25th round of Special Representatives talks on the India-China boundary issue with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. These crucial discussions precede Chinese President Xi Jinping's anticipated visit to India for the BRICS summit, offering a potential opportunity for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The talks aim to address the long-standing border dispute and recurring tensions, with both sides emphasising the importance of peace and tranquillity for bilateral relations amidst recent reports of aggressive Chinese posturing in Arunachal Pradesh.
National security advisor Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on Monday for a two-day visit to take part in the Special Representatives talks on the India-China boundary question with his Chinese counterpart and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
India has formally identified 27 places and features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names on the official Indian map, a move aimed at countering China's repeated attempts to rename locations in the state. This action reinforces India's stance that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country, despite China's "fictitious names" for the region it calls Zangnan.
An IAF helicopter has been deployed to assist in the search and rescue of four people missing after flash floods and landslides in Arunachal Pradesh's Keyi Panyor district. Incessant rain has cut off six districts, damaged homes, and injured 17, with one fatality reported. Efforts are also underway to restore crucial road connectivity.
Heavy monsoon rains have caused widespread havoc across Arunachal Pradesh, leading to floods, landslides, and significant damage to infrastructure. Rescue operations are underway in multiple districts, with casualties reported and many displaced. Connectivity remains severely disrupted, and authorities have issued warnings as more heavy rainfall is forecast.
In Arunachal Pradesh, 10 people have killed in landslides and floods related incidents as incessant monsoon rains lashed the state.
Three Army personnel died and several others were injured when their truck skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri district, police said on Wednesday.
Why can't the Indian government propose to the Chinese a corridor circumambulating the Holy Mountain where people from both sides could perform the yatra again? asks Claude Arpi.
Anjaw MLA and state's women and child development minister Dasanglu Pul confirmed that the duo went missing along the border with China while looking for medicinal herbs.
The youths were handed over to the Indian Army by the PLA after completing necessary formalities, Tezpur-based defence spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Harsh Warrdhan Pande said.
The alleged incident occurred on Friday in Nacho area of the district, their families said.
Two men identified as Bateilum Tikro, aged 33 years and Bayingso Manyu, aged 35 years had left home on August 19 and went to the mountains in search of medicinal plants, were reported to be last seen on August 24 by some fellow villagers.
"The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A," the EC said.
Five villagers from Nacho area of the district, who went for hunting in a jungle were allegedly kidnapped by the PLA.
Assistance from PLA has been sought to locate the individual on their side and return him as per established protocol, sources noted.
He was tied and blindfolded while in the custody of China's People's Liberation Army for more than a week, the father alleged.
The teenager, identified as Miram Taron, was abducted by the PLA from Lungta Jor area under Siyungla area on Tuesday.
The Janata Dal-United won seven seats, the National People's Party five, the Congress four, the People's Party of Arunachal one and Independents two.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday denied any incursion by China's People's Liberation Army in Taksing area of Arunachal Pradesh in recent times.
The statement came in the backdrop of rumours doing the rounds that China occupied 20 kms of Indian territory at Tawang sector and 8 kms at Taksing in Upper Subansiri district.
It is on the exact spot where the Guru is said to have created 108 waterfalls, that the Yangtse clash took place between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA on the night of December 9, 2022. As it had done in Ladakh in May 2020, the PLA tried to change the unmarked LAC in the Yangtse sector in Arunachal Pradesh. It was the most serious border incident since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, notes Claude Arpi.
Days after a Pentagon report said Beijing built a large village in a disputed territory in the Arunachal Pradesh sector, India on Thursday said it has neither accepted any illegal occupation of its territory by China nor has it accepted unjustified Chinese claims.
'China wants to change the status quo of India's Northern Border and proves that it can do whatever it wants in what it perceives as its own territory,' states Claude Arpi.
The night service bus skidded off the road and rolled down 1,000 feet in lower Subansiri district.
How does blatantly claiming Indian territory help to maintain 'peace in border regions', is a mystery that only China can explain, notes Claude Arpi.
A village built by China along the Line of Actual Control in the Arunachal Pradesh sector and mentioned in a recent Pentagon report, is in territory controlled by that country, sources in the security establishment in New Delhi said on Tuesday.
The incident came to light when two members from the group of youths, who went hunting in the jungle, returned home and informed the families of the five that they were whisked away by the Chinese troops from Sera-7, an Army patrol zone located about 12 km further north of Nacho.
The five youths had gone missing on Friday from the Sino-Indian border in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The defence minister said "last year in Galwan Valley, our soldiers displayed exemplary courage and valour in line of duty. I salute all brave soldiers who laid down their lives fighting for the nation."
Stressing that there is a need to strengthen the collective efforts to curb the spread of the virus, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said ramping up testing and vaccination, healthcare infrastructure planning, following Covid-appropriate behaviour and effective clinical management are among the measures to be taken by these states.
'There was a wrong policy of government during the Congress regime. They didn't construct roads up to the border which left a buffer zone of 3-4 km which China occupied. Construction of new villages isn't a new thing, it's all inherited from Congress'
Incessant downpour has triggered landslides and floods in several districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
In all the noise surrounding the Dok La confrontation, Claude Arpi focuses on a crucial issue that has hardly been covered -- the construction of roads for the armed forces and the local population to reach the most remote border posts.
At the border personnel meeting, China also accused the Indian side of damaging its road building equipment when a road laying party left its gear in Tuting in December last year following a protest by India.
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
'It is certainly time for New Delhi to open up. Not only should it go ahead at full steam with the roads to the LAC, but the government must also allow tourists to visit these stunningly beautiful areas of Indian territory.'
