Strengten border security: Mizoram, Tripura governors
October 31st, 2011 - 4:15 pm ICT by IANS
Agartala/Aizawl, Oct 31 (IANS) Security along India’s borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar must be strengthened for lasting peace in the region and to curb the smuggling of items such as arms, drugs and counterfeit currency, the governors of Tripura and Mizoram have said at a conference in New Delhi.
Tripura Governor D.Y. Patil and his Mizoram counterpart Vakkom Purushothaman were speaking at the 43rd conference of governors in New Delhi Oct 29-30 addressed by President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram.
In the speech released Monday, Purushothaman said Mizoram was a peaceful state “but it turns into transit zone for smuggling of drugs, counterfeit currencies and limited arms into and out of the state for insurgent groups in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland”.
“The construction of border fencing along the India-Bangladesh international boundary is progressing well and with the rapid deployment of BSF (Border Security Force) personnel, border crimes have largely tamed,” he added.
“The Assam Rifles which guards the Indo-Myanmar border alongwith other law enforcing agencies on the Indian side have been seizing weapons and drugs and that most offenders are found to be of Myanmar origin,” he stated.
The Tripura governor said it was tough for security agencies in bordering northeastern states to detain the offenders as they crossed the border immediately after carrying out different types of crimes.
“Existing systems to get the help of Bangladesh police to hold the criminals and curb crimes are time taking and complicated. Reviewing the entire system, the police and the concerned authorities of both countries must evolve a purposeful method in this regard,” Patil pointed out.
He urged the central government to complete border fencing at the earliest and stressed on further deployment of BSF troopers to check cross border movement of northeast India based militants.
“The number of Border Out Posts (BOPs) would be increased to 245 from the existing 210 BOPs to improve the vigil on the 856 km India-Bangladesh border with Tripura,” Patil added.
Four northeastern states - Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam - share a 1,880 km border with Bangladesh, while Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh share a 1,640 km unfenced border with Myanmar.
The India-Bangladesh border is manned by the BSF while the India-Myanmar border is guarded by Assam Rifles.
The dense forests, mountainous terrain and unfenced boundaries make the borders porous and vulnerable.
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- Malaria biggest enemy of Indian border guards in northeast - Feb 23, 2011
- India to intensify vigil along border with Myanmar, Bangladesh - May 12, 2010
- Six abducted by militants in Mizoram - Mar 26, 2012
- Mizoram free of gun-running racket, says Chief minister - Feb 19, 2011
- Bangladesh assures firm action against Indian insurgents - Dec 13, 2011
- Car, motorbike thefts rampant in Mizoram, Tripura - Oct 15, 2011
- India, Bangladesh border guards to meet every four months - Feb 03, 2012
- Drug smuggling rising along India-Myanmar border - May 19, 2012
- River erosion upsets BSF at India-Bangladesh border - May 08, 2012
- No trace of hostages, fencing work stops - Apr 02, 2012
- Myanmarese nationals get jail for entering India illegally - Mar 24, 2012
Tags: aizawl, assam rifles, border fencing, border movement, border security force, counterfeit currency, home minister, insurgent groups, international boundary, lasting peace, manmohan singh, myanmar border, northeast india, p chidambaram, peaceful state, president pratibha patil, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, rapid deployment, types of crimes