Militants have disrupted fence construction along the Indo-Myanmar border through improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted at sites, cut fences and stolen equipment over the past two months, officials aware of the matter said, adding that the disruptions have slowed progress.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which is monitoring the project, has fenced no more than 30km of the 1,643-km border, the officials said. While Assam Rifles teams have provided security to workers, militants across the border have used varied tactics to halt the work. “Between February 1 and 18, at least 11 buried IEDs were discovered along the border in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district. They were buried to deter officials from carrying out construction work. In Chandel district, the border fence was cut twice in December last year. On August 14, 15 border fence poles were also cut in Tengnoupal. Equipment that was at the site was also reported stolen then,” an officer said, explaining how militant groups use different modus operandi to deter officials from pursuing the construction.
Fencing the Indo-Myanmar border — to curb militant infiltration, refugee flows and smuggling of drugs and weapons — is a key Union home ministry project. Resident groups in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram object to the work. The border runs through Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur.
{{/usCountry}}Fencing the Indo-Myanmar border — to curb militant infiltration, refugee flows and smuggling of drugs and weapons — is a key Union home ministry project. Resident groups in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram object to the work. The border runs through Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur.
{{/usCountry}}“The Home Ministry held a meeting with Mizoram’s influential civil society group Young Mizo Association on January 27. Four YMA members, who were part of the delegation, relayed the concern of people living in Mizoram districts along the Indo-Myanmar border. Issues related to the start of construction work and acquisition of land were discussed. But sabotage and violence by militants has only been reported in Manipur so far. For now the forces are facing problems in some stretches of Manipur such as Tengnoupal and Chandel district. Other places in Manipur such as Churachandpur have not reported any disturbance related to the construction work,” a senior security force official said.