Tripura: Fencing on porous India-Bangladesh border resumes after MHA orders

However, uncertainty continued over the completion of fencing along a 7.4 kilometre stretch in the location where central government decided to go for single row fencing to protect about 340 families living there but Bangladesh has not yet cleared the proposal.

Tripura has 856 kilometre of international border, out of which over 100 kilometre is unfenced, which has been used as a corridor for illegal immigrants, smuggling and movement of anti-Indians.

According to officials here, the double row fencing across 1.4 kilometre stretches of Sonamura opposite to Comilla and Brahmanbaria districts of Bangladesh began today on an urgent basis inside 150 yards of zero line.

Due to habitation in some locations of Sonamura and Mohanpur, MHA decided to erect barbed fence 20 metre inside the zero line as mutually agreed by both the countries. But final words from Bangladesh administration in this regard are yet to come, which prevented the beginning of the work in those locations.

Besides cross border movement and smuggling, Covid-19 pandemic, and also rapid increase in infections and deaths in Bangladesh have once again sped up the fencing work in the locations of Sonamura.

In compliance with directives of MHA, state administration geared up to complete the works within next month.

Barbed fencing works had been stalled in several areas under Sonamura and Boxanagar due to multiple reasons, including objections of the families, whose dwellings would be on the other side of the fencing going by Indira-Mujib border management pact signed in 1975 .

While interacting with the villagers District Magistrate C K Jamatia reasserted any family affected by fencing would be provided duely compensated.

(Image Credit: wikipedia.org)