India has decided to erect 100 more fences along the border area.
India and Bangladesh have mutually identified nearly 100 fresh stretches for erecting fences along their shared border, besides continuing with the ongoing fencing work.
The decisions were taken at the three-day director-general-level talks between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) that concluded on Friday, sources in the Union home ministry said, reports The Telegraph.
The two sides have also agreed to establish a communication line between the commanders of the border-guarding forces to “further the spirit of trust and cordial relations” amid the border tension between India and Bangladesh.
The 4,096km Indo-Bangla frontier that runs through Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram has remained a longstanding source of disputes over barbed-wire fencing and border management.
“During the three-day talks that concluded on Thursday, both sides reached a consensus to erect fences along nearly 100 fresh border stretches, apart from continuing with the ongoing fencing work initiated by India,” an official said.
The neighbours, he said, also agreed to establish a communication line between the deputy commanders of the BSF and the BGB “to enhance cordial relations and maintain peace and tranquility at the frontier”.
The three-day bilateral talks were the first between the two frontier-guarding forces after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August last year.
“The chiefs of the two forces also agreed to further strengthen joint patrolling and enhance vigil at night to crack down on cross-border crimes,” the official said.
Sources said 864.48km of the frontier remained unfenced, including 174.51km of “non-feasible” gaps that include riverine stretches.
The new channel of communication will be set up between the additional director-general (ADG) of the BSF’s eastern command based in Calcutta and his BGB counterpart posted at the force’s headquarters in Dhaka, the sources said.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
