GUWAHATI, Dec 1 – The Government of India has sanctioned installation of floodlights along the international border with Bangladesh, which will be of great help to the personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) in improving border management. However, slow progress of construction of fencing along the border remains a matter of serious concern.
The process of installation of floodslights is likely to start soon. The concerned state governments will have to supply the required power, while, back-up generator sets will also be kept ready to deal with power cuts. BSF sources said that the installation of floodlights would definitely be of great help as at present, the troops face serious problems in effectively manning the border at night.
However, slow progress of construction of border fencing is a matter of concern, which affected proper border management. According to records available, the Government of India has sanctioned construction of fencing in a stretch of 565.428 kilometres along the international border in Assam-Meghalaya frontier, of which fencing has been constructed in only 157.102 kilometres and work is in progress in 133.735 kilometres. Though only the fencing cannot totally stop infiltration of foreigners and anti-social elements, it is definitely a deterrent and border management has improved in places where the fencing has come up.
Meanwhile, talking to The Assam Tribune on the eve of the raising day of the border guarding force, Public Relations Officer of the BSF (Assam-Meghalaya frontier), Ravi Gandhi said that the raising day would be celebrated with a day long programme in Shillong tomorrow.
Giving an account of the achievements of the force in the Assam-Meghalaya frontier, Gandhi said that the troops take care of 557 kilometres of international border in the sector, of which, 443 kilometres are in Meghalaya and 134 kilometres including 49.7 kilometres of riverine border are in Dhubri district of Assam. He revealed that so far this year, the BSF nabbed 181 Bangladeshi infiltrators in the sector.
Cattle smuggling remains a matter of serious concern for the troops of the border guarding force and so far this year, the BSF seized smuggled goods including cattle, forest products, ganja and other contraband items worth Rs 53.80 crore. The troops also seized fake Indian currency of the face value of Rs 1.07 lakh, Bangladeshi taka worth 2.60 lakh and Indian currency worth Rs 39.76 lakh along the international border.
On the achievements of the BSF in counter-insurgency operations, Gandhi revealed that 21 militants belonging to the ULFA, HUJI, PLA, MULTA etc were arrested in the international border, while 49 others were nabbed in other parts of the State where troops of the force are deployed for anti-insurgency operations. Seven militants surrendered before the BSF so far this year. The weapons recovered from militants include AK-series rifles, pistols, revolvers, grenades, pen pistols, grenades, gelatin sticks etc.
Gandhi revealed that efforts are also on by the BSF to improve relations with the Bangladesh Rifles through holding of regular meetings. He revealed that various issues including trans-border crimes, infiltration, smuggling of contraband items and cattle, illegal cultivation and encroachment on India's land by Bangladeshi citizens, problems of adverse possession, obstructions made by Bangladesh to development works along the border, illegal construction by Bangladesh within 150 yards from the zero line, security-related issues etc were discussed in the last meeting held between BSF and BDR in Sylhet early this month.
The BSF PRO further revealed that efforts are on by the force to improve relations with the people living near the international border through confidence-building programmes including civic action programmes, medical camps, computer and other vocational training etc.