Kolkata, July 18: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday claimed that what was once a corridor of infiltration under the previous Trinamool Congress regime in the Siliguri Corridor (also known as the Chicken Neck Sector) has started becoming synonymous with a secure border.
He made this claim in a social media post after inspecting the surveillance system of the Border Out Post (BOP) of the 19th battalion of the Border Security Force, a strategically located BOP under the North Bengal Frontier. Shah said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has increased the number of watchtowers along the borders and equipped them with state‑of‑the‑art technology, making border security stronger and impregnable.
During the day, the Union Home Minister also chaired a crucial meeting on border security in West Bengal in Siliguri, Darjeeling district, attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. At the meeting, decisions were taken to strengthen security along the Indo‑Bangladesh borders in West Bengal, especially in North Bengal, to prevent illegal infiltration and to arrest cross‑border smugglers.
Shah also laid the foundation stone for and inaugurated development projects worth Rs 77.06 crore, reviewed security arrangements along the border fencing, visited the watchtower, planted a sapling and joined BSF personnel for high tea. He arrived at Siliguri on Friday night and had a packed programme with four back‑to‑back engagements throughout Saturday. He will travel to Kolkata tonight. On Sunday, Shah will have another day‑long schedule, but all his programmes during this visit to West Bengal are administrative, with no political events slated. He will return to New Delhi on Sunday afternoon.
IANS
