The border guards of India and Bangladesh have decided to set up more border outposts (BOPs) to check trans-border movement of terrorists, smuggling and infiltration.
While India will construct 508 new BOPs, besides existing 1,200, Bangladesh will set up 50 more in addition to its existing 35.
This was announced on Wednesday at a joint press conference following a three-day meeting between BSF Inspector-General and Commander Bangladesh Border Guards here.
Of the 50 new BOPs of Bangladesh, 35 would be constructed along Tripura and Mizoram border, said Brig Gen Md Habibul Karim, Commander of BGB Chittagong division, who led a 20-member delegation for the meeting.
Md Karim said: “Of the new BOPs, six would be constructed by using Indian roads and India has given permission for it.”
He said Bangladesh has also constructed 17 new BOPs along the Myanmar border last year.
I-G of Meghalaya P. K. Dubey, who led the BSF delegation, said, India has 1,200 BOPs along the Indo-Bangla border which covers Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram and additional 508 BOPs would be constructed.
Both Karim and Dubey said border crimes like smuggling, infiltration and cattle lifting had come down drastically following better coordination between the two border guards.
“International border has sliced many houses forcing two brothers of a family to live in separate countries and we are also discussing how such problems could be sorted out,” Karim said.
The barbed wire fencing is constructed 150 yards away from the zero line of the border to adhere to the agreement signed between the two countries in 1975. To a question, Karim said: “Due to complication of the border, BSF raised the issue of erecting fencing on the zero line in some cases and we are thinking how to go forward and make the problem simple.”
Dubey said eight places were identified where fencing should be constructed on the zero line. Of these, five are in Tripura and three in Meghalaya and Mizoram. - PTI
