GUWAHATI, Sept 7 � The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) will take up the issue of failure of the Government to seal the international border with Bangladesh with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with photographs of the situation on the ground.
AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said that a delegation of the students' body recently visited the Karimganj sector of the international border to assess the situation on the ground and found that the border is virtually open all along the sector.
Bhattacharya said that the quality of the fencing in the area was not up to the mark and there are places where the fencing was supported by bamboo. "The concerned authorities claimed that they were forced to use bamboo to protect the portions of the fencing cut by the smugglers. The claim proved that the security along the international border was not adequate," he added.
The border is totally open along the Kuchiara river in Karimganj town and anyone can easily sneak into India from Bangladesh. The fencing was washed away in Lakhibazar area due to severe erosion and no step has yet been taken to repair it, while, the condition of the border road needs immediate improvement, the AASU adviser said. He revealed that there is need for reducing the distance between the border outposts of the Border Security Force (BSF) and even after 10 years of taking the decision to create a second line of defence of Assam Police personnel, the Assam Government has not yet been able to make the force fully operational.
The AASU lamented that the border with Pakistan was sealed within three years but the international border with Bangladesh could not be sealed even after 25 years of signing of the Assam Accord. This prove the lack of sincerity on the part of the Central Government in sealing the border, Bhattacharya said and pointed out that the Government of Assam also failed to take up the issue forcefully with the Centre. He demanded that if necessary, the Government of India should deploy Army to seal the international border as infiltration has not only posed a threat to the identity of the indigenous people but also posing a major threat to the security of the nation.
