NEW DELHI, Dec 22 - Not only illegal migrants and cattle, elephants too cross over the international border and enter Assam and other northeastern states from Bangladesh.
Confirming cross-border movement of elephants across the India-Bangladesh international border, Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar named Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal as the states where such movements take place.
During the first �Indo-Bangladesh Dialogue on Trans-boundary Conservation of Elephants�, held in August in Kolkata, it was decided to facilitate natural migration of elephants between the two countries through identified elephant corridors.
Referring to a proposal to lay a route to ensure that elephants go across the international border with ease, Javadekar said that after the inter-ministerial consultations, it will be placed before the Government of Bangladesh for consideration.
On the other hand, cow smuggling has been on for decades, and cattle worth an estimated USD 1.7-1.8 million a year are smuggled to the neighbouring nation�s slaughterhouses. In early April, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had ordered BSF personnel to stop this illegal trade.
