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Manipur CM meets top officials on 70-km fencing across India-Myanmar border; ‘urgent necessity’
CM Biren Singh's meeting was conducted a day after he called for a 'permanent stop' on cross-border movement from Myanmar.
Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Sunday discussed a plan to extend the India-Myanmar border fencing by 70 km during a meeting with Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and other senior officials of the state. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the chief minister said the additional fencing along the international border will be done to check the cross-border illegal immigration and drugs smuggling.
The meeting was held a day after he urged the Centre to ‘permanently close’ the Free Movemement Regime which allows people on either side of the border to travel up to 16 km inside the other country.
Also read: Free Movement Regime with Myanmar suspended to control illegal influx: Manipur CM
"Held a meeting with the officials of BRO and deliberated the plan to begin construction of an additional 70 km of border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border. I was joined by Chief Secretary, DGP and officials from the Home Department. In view of the rise in illegal immigration and drugs smuggling from the neighbouring country, safeguarding our porous borders has become an urgent necessity.
Less than 10% of Manipur's 400-km international border with Myanmar is fenced which leaves the region open for cross-border illegal activities. Due to difficult topography of the region among other reasons, fencing the entire border is challenging. However, it is believed that fencing of areas where most illegal activies are carried out can be done easily.
On Saturday, Biren Singh said the FMR has made it difficult to control the illegal influx from Myanmar. “Our government’s priority is to stop illegal influx from Myanmar for that we need immediate border fencing. Now Union home minister already sanctioned and I’m told that the work order has also been issued to BRO for about 60 km (border fencing activities) subject to confirmation,” he said.
The internet facility in the state, which was banned as a precautionary measure in the wake of the ethnic violence, was restored for the public from Saturday. He said an adequate number of paramilitary forces was sent by the central government “…and accordingly we have deployed it at vulnerable areas that are the reason why no unwanted incidents were reported in the last one month.”
As a part of India's Act East Policy, FMR gives permission to enter 16-km inside both countries without visa. The rationale of this pact was to enable trade and business as well as to allow people from ethnically similar communities, in both countries, to move freely. However, the move has faced criticism as it unintentionally enabled cross-border illegal activities.
