SHILLONG: The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Friday asserted that it would keep a tab on illegal extraction of boulders from the Umngot river by Bangladeshi citizens.
Addressing media persons after the conclusion of the BSF-BGB IG-Region Commanders Conference here on Friday, the BGB Additional Director General, Md Zakir Hossain, admitted that some individuals may have crossed over to the Indian side and extracted boulders from the river taking advantage of absence of BGB personnel.
He, however, stated that the BGB was vigilant and the force would work in close association with the BSF to prevent the citizens from crossing the border and illegally collecting boulders.
He also said that many tourists frequent the area and it is not possible for the BGB to keep an eye on each and every tourist and there may have been instances when some tourists may have ventured close to the international border.
The BSF Meghalaya Frontier IG, Kuldeep Saini, said that the force was planting trees along the border and if any erosion or diversion of river is reported, the matter is immediately taken up with the Joint River Commission for necessary action.
The BSF had raised the issue of boulder smuggling with its Bangladeshi counterpart after reports emerged stating that the rampant extraction of boulders and sand had reduced the water level of the Umngot.
