From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: Against the backdrop of recent violence in Assam, chiefs of BSF and Border Guard of Bangladesh will meet in Dhaka on Tuesday for talks during which India will raise issues like narcotics smuggling, FICN and illegal migration.
“The border forces of the two neighbours now enjoy extremely friendly relations… yet there are crucial issues like cross-border human trafficking and narcotics smuggling, which are likely to be priorities in our meeting,” BGB chief Major General Anwar Hossain said.
The high-level meeting will discuss the smuggling of Hilsa from Bangladesh to India.
According to reports, despite the ban on export of the prized fish, smuggling of Hilsa has continued.
The delegation led by BSF Director General U K Bansal will travel to Dhaka on Tuesday for a five-day visit to discuss the issues.
Reports say that smugglers are using different points along the 200-kilometre-long border apart from the waterways to sneak the fish into India. This has foiled the Bangladesh Government’s initiative to increase supply of the popular fish in local markets and check its high price.
It was observed that after the Muslim festival of Eid, prices of hilsa came down in Bangladesh and the Government there tried to get the prices reduced further for the common men following good catch in recent times.
But trucks loaded with hilsa being transported to the border areas from where day labourers, mostly women walking five to six kilometers, carry the fish in sacks to India, spoilt the Government’s plans.
The BSF prevents illegal entrance into the country from Bangladesh but reports say that the personnel manning the border on Indian side welcome the hilsa smugglers who sell the fish to the Indian parties at a pre-fixed rate. The river routes in Satkhira along the Sundarbans are usually used for smuggling hilsa into India.
