State wants border fencing on Zero Point

SHILLONG, Feb 13: Given that a sizable portion of Meghalaya’s porous border is unfenced, clashes along the Indo-Bangla international border occur frequently there. The state government has taken appropriate notice of the situation and urged the Centre to ensure that fencing is installed at the Zero Point.
“The central government wants to fence the entire international border,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said on Tuesday. However, there are concerns about the fencing’s alignment because, in some areas, it crosses over into agricultural and farming land, which is why some villages are against it, he said.
Tynsong added that there are some areas in Jaintia Hills and East Khasi Hills where no border fencing has been installed, despite the fact that the state government has already written to the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure that the fencing is installed on the Zero Point, whenever possible.
According to Tynsong, the villagers will never consent to the construction of fencing either in the centre of their village or on their agricultural land.
Reacting to a query on reports of Bangladeshis illegally crossing over to meghalaya and committing crimes, including murders, Tynsong said that the state government has urged the BSF to maintain extra vigilence to thwart such activities.