GUWAHATI, Jan 31 � The porous international border is posing a grave threat to the security of the North East region and there is urgent need for increasing vigilance along the border, said the Director General of Meghalaya police, SB Kakati.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, the Meghalaya police DG admitted that complete sealing of the international border would be an impossible task because of the terrain. However, he said that increase of vigil along the border, deployment of second line of defence and efforts to strengthen intelligence network in the villages located near the international border etc would be able to play a vital role in preventing elements of anti-India forces from sneaking into the country from Bangladesh.
Kakati said that though the ULFA recently suffered setbacks in Bangladesh after the arrests of senior leaders, it is an established fact that forces inimical to India including militants still have their bases in the neighbouring country and they take advantage of the porous international border to sneak into India to create disturbance. He said that Meghalaya based militant group HNLC have their bases across the border, particularly in the Khasi villages located in Bangladesh. He revealed that the border in Garo Hills is considered most vulnerable as the militants often try to take advantage of the terrain to sneak into India from Bangladesh through that area.
Commenting on the slow progress of fencing the international border, Kakati said that though the fencing alone cannot completely seal the border, it is definitely a deterrent. He, however pointed out that the entire border cannot be fenced because of the terrain and because of the decision to construct the fencing 150 yards inside the zero line, India is losing land wherever the fencing is erected. Moreover, there are places where Indian villages are located within 150 yards from the zero line and construction of fencing would pose serious problems for them. He further admitted that the disputed Pyrdwah area along the international border in Meghalaya is always a cause of concern as even the Pyrdwah village is located outside the border pillars. �I have recently
visited the area and found that the entire stretch of the international border from Pyrdwah to Dowki is vulnerable and it would be difficult to fence the area,� he added.
The Meghalaya police DG revealed that the old fencing, wherever constructed was useless because of the faulty design as it was submerged in water for most parts of the rainy season. But on the positive side, the Government of India has started replacing the old fencing with a new one, which would be beneficial in checking infiltration to a great extent.
Kakati, who had also served as the IG of Border Security Force (BSF) in North Bengal sector, said that there is need for increasing vigil by the border guarding force in the entire region with deployment of additional forces and setting up of new border outposts in the vulnerable areas. Patrolling in the vulnerable areas should also be intensified, he added.
Kakati said that personnel of Meghalaya police have been posted as second line of defence behind the BSF in the areas considered vulnerable and efforts are also on to motivate the people of the villages located along the international border to inform the forces about the movement of infiltrators and other undesired elements. Such moves started paying dividends as recently a group of HNLC militants could be nabbed immediately after they managed to sneak into West Garo Hills from Bangladesh.
The Meghalaya police DG also stressed the need for better coordination and sharing of intelligence between the police forces of the states having international border with Bangladesh to deal with the threat faced by the region from the militants and other anti-India forces having bases in the neighbouring country.
