SHILLONG, Dec 28 - Cattle smuggling is still an issue of concern for Meghalaya with the BSF confiscating cattle along the Bangladesh border throughout the year. This week, the BSF seized 699 cattle heads along the border with Bangladesh. BSF officials said that in the past two days alone, its anti-smuggling drives led to seizure of 175 cattle heads.
On Friday, BSF troops at Jaliakhola and Kuliang seized 139 cattle, which were about to be smuggled across the international border, from a jungle during two special operations conducted in East Jaintia Hills. These cattle were brought from different parts of the country and concealed in thick foliage for smuggling into Bangladesh, a BSF official said.
On Saturday, the BSF seized 36 cattle along with a truck. The total value of the seized cattle is Rs 39.44 lakh. The seized cattle were handed over to the Customs and State Government officials.
The seized cattle are auctioned, but most of them are bought back by the smugglers through their representatives. These smugglers then attempt to smuggle the cattle across the border again.
Cattle smuggling has been going on due to the porosity of the Indo-Bangladesh border. There are vast stretches of the international border which have remained unfenced due to opposition from local people.
The residents of these areas are demanding that the border fence be erected on the zero line and not 150 feet away from it. On other stretches, it is not possible to erect fences due to the difficult terrain consisting of hills and water bodies.
Meanwhile, the BSF said it has increased vigil in the border areas to curb the menace of cattle smuggling as well as other crimes.
