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Census Operations Halted at Assam-Meghalaya Border Over Dispute
✍️ The Sentinel - of this Land, for its People
🗓 05 Sep 2026, 02:19 PM
👁 22
A census team’s field work along the Assam‑Meghalaya border was stopped after a local dispute erupted, delaying data collection in the area.
Earlier this week, enumerators from the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner attempting to conduct the 2024 population count were barred from entering the contested stretch of the Assam‑Meghalaya border. Local residents and officials raised objections, citing the unresolved boundary demarcation between the two states.
The standoff prevented the census team from completing its scheduled household surveys, creating a gap in the data that the national census aims to capture across the region. Officials noted that the interruption could affect the accuracy of population figures, which are crucial for planning and allocation of central funds.
State authorities from both Assam and Meghalaya have been contacted to resolve the impasse. The central census office indicated that it will revisit the area once the border issue is clarified, ensuring that the enumeration proceeds without further hindrance.
The incident underscores the challenges of conducting a nationwide statistical exercise in areas where inter‑state disputes remain unsettled, highlighting the need for coordinated resolution before critical data collection can resume.
The standoff prevented the census team from completing its scheduled household surveys, creating a gap in the data that the national census aims to capture across the region. Officials noted that the interruption could affect the accuracy of population figures, which are crucial for planning and allocation of central funds.
State authorities from both Assam and Meghalaya have been contacted to resolve the impasse. The central census office indicated that it will revisit the area once the border issue is clarified, ensuring that the enumeration proceeds without further hindrance.
The incident underscores the challenges of conducting a nationwide statistical exercise in areas where inter‑state disputes remain unsettled, highlighting the need for coordinated resolution before critical data collection can resume.