Mizoram govt to raise Mizo Territorial Army to curb drug trafficking

Aizawl, Aug 11 The Mizoram government has started the recruitment process to form a Mizo Territorial Army (MTA) battalion to deal with drug trafficking and other law and order-related issues, officials said on Monday.

A Mizoram Home Department official said that 70 male candidates would be recruited for the first batch, and subsequently, recruitment of other batches would be done. Successful candidates would undergo nine months of rigorous training at the Assam Regimental Centre in Shillong, after which they would be posted in different parts of Mizoram, especially in bordering areas.

According to the official, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has supported the Mizoram government’s proposal to establish the MTA battalion to deal with drug trafficking, smuggling activities and other law and order-related issues.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma, during his visit to New Delhi earlier, discussed the formation of the MTA and several issues with Home Minister Amit Shah.

“The Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to the Home Minister for supporting his proposal to establish the MTA battalion, describing it as a crucial initiative to employ Mizo youths while contributing to national security,” the official said.

He said that for quite a long time, the state government has been requesting the Centre to help the state to raise the MTA to deal with the smuggling of drugs and other contrabands being illegally imported from Myanmar.

“The state government has manpower shortages to deal with the narcotics trafficking from across the border. The state government earlier submitted proposals to the Ministry of Home Affairs about the raising of the MTA,” he said.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has recently proposed setting up its zonal office in Mizoram. NCB Director General Anurag Garg recently met Mizoram Chief Minister and suggested setting up a full-fledged NCB zonal office in the state and emphasised the need for more staff and officials who are acquainted with the local language and the ground situation of the state.

Lalduhoma, a former IPS officer, during the meeting with Garg, had discussed ways and means to curb the drug trade and usage of narcotics by the youth.

The Chief Minister had told the NCB DG that he had already requested the MHA to constitute or to allow the state government to form the MTA to further strengthen vigilance along the state's unfenced borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Mizoram shares a 510 km and 318 km border with Myanmar and Bangladesh, respectively, and these unfenced frontiers are hotspots for the smuggling of diverse drugs, including highly addictive methamphetamine tablets, foreign cigarettes, areca nuts, arms and ammunition, and exotic animals and their parts.

--IANS

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