Border fencing to come up 150 yards inside State, asserts BSF

SHILLONG: Despite repeated demands from the Co-ordination Committee on International Border (CCIB), a conglomeration of NGOs, to erect fencing along Zero Line at the India-Bangladesh border, the BSF has asserted that the fencing has to come up at 150 yards as per international convention.
Addressing his first press conference here on Saturday, BSF’s Meghalaya Frontier IG, PK Dubey said that the practice of constructing border fencing at 150 yards was followed in the entire country.
Stating that 358 kilometers of border fencing in the State has been completed, he said that work is going on for another 10 kilometers while fencing was not feasible in around 12 kilometers of border due to difficult terrain.
“There are gaps in 108 places and we are trying to come up with a technological solution to plug them,” he said.
Stating that the prime minister himself had directed the completion of border fencing within this year, the BSF IG said the implementing agency was finding it difficult to carry out the task at the desired pace due to unavailability of land in Meghalaya.
Reacting to a query, he said that the BSF will provide gates at the border for people to cultivate their land.
According to Dubey, the new Land Acquisition Act had also delayed the border fencing work.
“There are many stringent rules under the Act but we are hopeful of getting the land within 3 -4 months,” he said.
He also pointed out that four years back the BSF had deposited Rs 14 crore with the State Government for installation of lights along the border.
“Until we get cooperation from the Government we are handicapped,” he said.
When asked about the Land boundary Settlement, he said that Meghalaya will gain 240 acres of land under the pact.
Cattle smuggling
Meanwhile, Dubey revealed that the pressure exerted by BSF against cattle smugglers in Dhubri in Assam has spilled over to Meghalaya, leading to increase in cases of cattle smuggling to   Bangladesh.
He also drew attention to the trend of cattle smugglers obtaining butchers’ license to carry out the crime.
“If the cattle can be checked at the interstate border, the problem of smuggling would be largely solved,” he opined while adding that the BSF can seize cattle only in border areas.
The BSF official also said that legalizing transport of cattle would add to the State’s revenue.
According to Dubey, the BSF is mobilising its contacts in villages to get the names of people involved in the smuggling of cattle to Bangladesh.