AGARTALA, July 25 (TIWN): 4 day long Indo-Bangla meeting has begun in capital Agartala, discussion began on pending border issues including long 158 KM unfenced Indo-Bangla border. Joint meeting may boost the Border’s remaining fencing work in Tripura. A 21 member team from BGB led by Regional Director Brigadier General Mohammad Habibul Karim arrived Tripura on Sunday and kicked off 4 day long meeting with BSF led by Tripura frontier Inspector General J.B. Sangwan. Under Tripura PWD’s lameduck officials supervision, the border fencing work is going in a snail’s space. North Tripura SP confirmed 12.5 KM unfenced border in his part, in South Tripura SP said it’s 16 KM in South border and in Sonamura it’s 9.5 KM unfenced border, which was confirmed by Sepahijala DM. Long unfenced borders along with many more unsealed small areas have hit Tripura’s internal security due to intrusion of Bangladeshi smugglers, terrorist elements. Moreover, there are various other issues like border crimes, smuggling, destroying fencing at zero points, cross-border movements by Bangladesh based miscreants.

Already, the central government  had set a deadline of one year to completely seal the 223.7 km Indo-Bangladesh border by June 2017 for Tripura’s neighboring state Assam, but due to Tripura Govt.’s lack of co-operation, Tripura’s border fencing works yet to get momentum.

In last month on June 24,  Susheel Kumar, the Secretary- Border Management (MHA) arrived in Tripura to inspect the border status .  However, he held a meeting with Tripura Govt. officials in the presence of Chief Secretary Y P Sing, DGP K Nagraj, RD Dept. Principal Secretary GSG Ayyanagar.

But before his departure, he expressed extreme displease about the fencing status of Indo-Bangla border in Tripura. During the meeting held at Circuit house question raised regarding the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) and Susheel Kumar said that the status of border area under BADP is not at all satisfactory.

Susheel Kumar visited many border areas, including interior border areas and after his 3 day long visit on the same date, after a month (July 24) the BSF-BGB meeting has been started.

Tripura’s 35 % unsealed Border issue may be resolved finally as Indo-Bangla Border forces discuss all the border related issues in this 4 day long meeting.

However, according to Govt. data Tripura shares 856 km India-Bangladesh and 85 per cent is fenced so far. Thus it can be said that Tripura’s 727 KM border is fenced but long 158 km is yet unfenced.

A high alert was sounded on the Indo-Bangla border in five states of West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram in the wake of the terror attack in Dhaka with the BSF stepping up its vigil. Accordingly, the BSF sought cooperation of all state and central intelligence units to ensure that no illegal cross-border movement takes place.

Already Modi Govt. sought CM’s help to sort out state’s boundary issue. But for Tripura the Govt, after 23 years of regime has failed to secure its border with proper fencing, neither the Govt. has any motive to cooperate with the central govt  as Ministers like Badal Choudhury’s prefer politics over Muhuri Char issue.

Now with Modi’s Act-East Policy, Northeast is benefited and such meetings may resolve the fencing problems finally. This Indo-Bangla meeting will be continued till July 27 and a press conference will be held on that day, after the end of the meeting.