GUWAHATI, Feb 10 - Notwithstanding Central government�s claims that it had put the Indo-Bangladesh border fencing work on fast-track, the work is progressing at snail�s pace due to fund crunch.
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) are executing the fencing project.
Official sources said the CPWD has informed the State government that work on a 9.03-km stretch of border has been slow due to �difficult terrain, incessant rainfall and fund shortage�.
Work on a stretch of 4.35 km near Karimganj has also stopped after Bangladesh government sought a �reference pillar� on the area. Indian government is discussing the issue with Bangladesh.
The total length of the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam is 263 km.
So far 201.51 km length of border (93.77 per cent) has been covered by physical barrier i.e. fence. Out of the balance border length of 61.49 km, 13.38 km is planned to be covered by physical barrier and rest 48.11 km by non-physical barrier due to riverine features.
The non-physical barrier is proposed to be plugged by technology solutions.
