Amit Shah to inaugurate new Assam Rifles base in Mizoram on April 1

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the new headquarters of Assam Rifles battalion headquarters at Zokhawsang, about 15 kilometres from Mizoram capital Aizawl, during a day-long visit to the state on April 1, officials said. He will also inaugurate and lay foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 2,414 crore. The union home minister will lay the foundation stone for the construction of Zorinpui-Longmasu section of the National Highway 502A. Shah will also lay the foundation stone for the construction of two sections of the Aizawl bypass. Assam Rifles, the country's oldest paramilitary force, has two bases at Zodin and Khatla in the heart of the city since 1917. The one at Zodin is being shifted to Zokhawsang, an official said in Aizawl. The demand for the relocation of AR headquarters from the heart of Aizawl to Zokhawsang was raised by the erstwhile Mizo National Front (MNF) government headed by former Chief Minister Laldenga in 1988 after the force killed seven civilians in a clash. The relocation was among the top promises of the ruling MNF headed by Chief Minister Zoramthanga in the last Assembly polls held in November 2018. In February 2019, the Union Home Ministry had directed the paramilitary force to shift its base to Zokhawsang by May 31 that year. However, it was delayed. During his visit to the state on April 1, Shah will also lay the foundation stone for the ‘Laldenga Centre' in Aizawl, official sources said.

However, the purpose of the ‘Laldenga Centre' is still not clear.

Laldenga was the founder of the MNF, which was once an underground outfit which spearheaded a cessationist movement between 1966 and 1986. He was the first chief minister of Mizoram after it attained statehood in 1987.