865km of India-Bangladesh border remains unfenced: MHA in LS

The ministry of home affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that approximately 865km of the 4096km India-Bangladesh border remains unfenced.

“A length of 864.482 km of the India-Bangladesh border is yet to be fenced, which includes a length of 174.514 km of non-feasible gap,” Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai said in a written reply .

Rai said the challenges faced in completing the feasible stretches of fencing projects relate to land acquisition, objections by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), limited working season and land slide/marshy land.

“It has been conveyed to the Government of Bangladesh that with regard to security measures at the border, including for fencing, India observes all protocols and agreements between the two governments and between the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB),” he said in his reply. “The Government of India’s expectation that all earlier understandings will be implemented by Bangladesh and there will be a cooperative approach to combating cross-border crimes has also been conveyed to the Government of Bangladesh.”

BSF officers acquainted with the matter indicated that the force has implemented smart fencing through the use of sensors, CCTV cameras, and floodlights, in addition to deploying guards to monitor infiltration and smuggling at border areas where fencing cannot be constructed because of the landscape.

Diplomatic ties and the situation at the border have consistently deteriorated since August 5, when former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina escaped to India. On January 12, Bangladesh voiced “serious concern” to India’s ambassador regarding what the former described as “unapproved” fencing efforts by the (BSF). The next day, India called in the deputy high commissioner in Delhi to emphasize the importance of maintaining the agreement on border management that the two nations reached previously.

Rai’s response arrived weeks after the nearby border agency opposed the previously established fencing construction at various points along the international border. All these disputes will be addressed in the director general-level meeting of BSF and BGB in New Delhi later this month.