Thaindian News

New Delhi/Dhaka, May 5 (IANS) India has sought fullest cooperation from Bangladesh to prevent casualties during illegal movement along the border and said that 40 percent of such cases pertain to Indian nationals.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has said her government had instructed its border guards to exercise “maximum tolerance to prevent killing of innocent people” along the border.

“We are equally concerned at the casualties on the border… Forty percent of the total casualties are Indians, so we are sincere to stop this,” she told a group of Bangladeshi journalists visiting India at the invitation of the Indian external affairs ministry.

The familiarisation tour, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, was ahead of a two-day visit by Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari to Bangladesh beginning Thursday.

Rao said India and Bangladesh should make joint efforts to stop illegal border crossings especially at night. It is very difficult for the border guards to identify criminals or innocent people in the dark.

She was speaking on a contentious issue between the two South Asian neighbours. Bangladesh says that India’s Border Security Force (BSF) has killed over a 1,000 people in the last decade. India says they include smugglers peddling in arms, drugs, goods and cattle and are mostly armed.

A campaign should be launched to dissuade people from crossing the border illegally, The Daily Star quoted her as saying.

She emphasised the need for stronger coordination between the border guards of the two countries to reduce casualties.

Replying to a question on Tipaimukh dam in India’s northeast, Rao categorically said no construction was taking place at the site and the project was “purely for generation of hydroelectricity and water management during floods and dry seasons”.

“There is no irrigation project at the site and also no plan to divert water,” she said, reiterating Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurance given earlier to Dhaka.

Rao said the Tipaimukh project will be helpful for Bangladesh.

On Manmohan Singh’s visit to Bangladesh, Rao said the trip will take place sometime this year and both the countries are working to fix a suitable date.

Manmohan Singh’s visit will significantly contribute to improving bilateral relations and resolving issues relating to trade, economy, security, border, water sharing and the power sector.

Rao also responded to questions regarding non-implementation of Indian commitments like full-time access of Bangladeshis to Tin Bigha corridor, export of 500,000 tonnes of food grain, export of electricity, Teesta water sharing, exchange of enclaves and rebuilding of a village in cyclone Sidr-affected area in Bangladesh.

She said India will soon grant access to the mainland through the Tin Bigha corridor.

Asked about the delay in exporting 300,000 tonnes of rice and 200,000 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh, Rao said the delay “is not intentional and it is because of legal and bureaucratic tangles”.

There has been huge progress in implementation of various projects mentioned in the joint communique issued during the landmark visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January 2010, she said.

“Everything is on the right track and India will fulfil all commitments given to Bangladesh,” added Rao.

India has offered to supply 250 megawatt of power to Bangladesh, for which construction of a 40-km, 400-kilovolt direct current line will be completed by 2012-end.

India had also extended its largest ever development assistance, with a line of credit worth $1 billion.