NE’s chicken neck corridor vulnerable following Bangladesh political crisis

Guwahati, Dec. 11: The vulnerability of the chicken neck corridor connecting the northeastern region with the rest of India has increased due to the volatile situation in Bangladesh and there is need for strengthening security measures and intelligence collection to protect it.

When contacted by The Assam Tribune, former GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command of the Army, Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita (retired) admitted that the vulnerability of the corridor increased manifold due to the current situation in Bangladesh.

He said the corridor is well inside the range of the long distance weapons of China and in 2017, China tried to occupy Doklam to keep a close watch in that area. The Chinese bid to capture Doklam failed because of the strong stand adopted by the Indian Army.

Lt Gen Kalita said that because of the present situation in Bangladesh, the influence of Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) would definitely increase in the neighbouring country, which is a disturbing scenario for India. Moreover, the jehadi elements in Bangladesh are now out of prison and are bound to get more active, he added.

According to information available, Chinese activities in eastern Nepal have increased as they are working on several major infrastructure projects in that area. China is also becoming active in northern Bangladesh, working in some infrastructure projects. Moreover, the Rongpur air base of Bangladesh is quite near to the chicken neck corridor.

But Lt Gen Kalita is of the view that either China or Bangladesh is very unlikely to attack the area directly. But the main threat is that they can create disturbance in the area by using disgruntled elements.

With the demand for Kamatapur state still very much alive and the changing demography of the North Bengal area, the foreign elements may utilise the opportunity to create disturbance in the chicken neck corridor.

"Any disturbance in that area can cut off the Northeast from the rest of the country," Lt Gen Kalita said, expressing the view that security measures in the vulnerable area should be augmented and intelligence gathering given priority to ensure that the area remains peaceful.

- By R Dutta Choudhury