AGENCIES / GUWAHATI
As many as 1,615 cadres of all the four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) laid down arms in Guwahati today.
In all, 178 sophisticated weapons and explosives were also deposited on this occasion. Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma attended the ceremony.
Earlier, NDFB signed tripartite peace treaty with the Centre and the Assam Government recently in New Delhi. As per the peace accord, financial package of 1,500 crore rupees will be given for the development of the Bodoland Territorial Region in the next three years.
The recently signed tripartite pact was the third Bodo Accord signed in last 27 years. The violent movement for a separate Bodoland state took hundreds of lives. The first Bodo Accord was signed with the All Bodo Students Union, ABSU and Bodo People’s Action Committee in 1993.
In 2003, the second Bodo Accord was signed with the militant outfit Bodo Liberation Tigers, leading to the formation of the Bodoland Territorial Council, BTC consisting of four districts.
The Assam Government has assured that the new treaty would not hamper the interest of the non-Bodo people staying in the BTC area.