The influential All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Tuesday claimed that Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil was "taken aback" by the "porous" Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam's Dhubri sector and also the absence of telecom facilities there.
Following Patil's visit to the border accompanied by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and an AASU delegation on Monday, AASU Advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya told reporters in Guwahati that "the Home Minister was surprised to see the 20-km border at Masalbari was open with no demarcation between the two countries."
"Our repeated claim for the last 20 years that the border is porous with no fencing or roads was proved yesterday, and the Union Home Minister saw it for himself," Bhattacharya said.
"At Sonarhat also, the Minister saw the border wire fencing erected in 1986-87 had also fallen apart and no longer served any purpose," he said.
After visiting both the areas, Bhattacharya claimed, Patil stated the border had to be sealed and assured to complete the fencing work within December this year by replacing the old damaged wires and putting up new ones where none existed.
"We will closely monitor the progress and will make no compromises as the illegal influx of Bangladeshis here through the open border has to be stopped," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"We will closely monitor the progress and will make no compromises as the illegal influx of Bangladeshis here through the open border has to be stopped," he said.
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