Asom-Bangla border sealing by end of year: MHA

Guwahati, Jul 30 (UNI) The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced that the Asom-Bangladesh border will be sealed completely by end of December this year.

Informing this at a press meet here today, AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharyya said that the assurance was given at the tripartite talks between the MHA, state government and the AASU yesterday.

The meeting was held as per a decision of a May meeting of last year between the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), the Prime Minister and the state government to conduct review meets regularly on progress of implementation of the Assam Accord, 1985.

Leading the central delegation, Secretary (Border Management) B S Lalli said the sealing of the 272-km land border that Asom shares with Bangladesh, besides the 90-km river border, would be completed by December 31 this year.

Mr Lalli informed that 43 km of the stretch was yet to be completed and renovation of the earlier fencing was also being under taken, the AASU advisor said.

The AASU expressed dissatisfaction at the fencing work done by the state PWD and demanded that the work be handed over to a central organization.

They demanded shoot-at-sight orders along the Asom-Bangaldesh border. However, the government refrained from making any commitment in the regard, Dr Bhattacharyya added.

The students' body further demanded setting up of more Border Out Posts(BOPs) from the current 91 land BOPs and 12 riverine BOPs of the Border Security Force (BSF) along the border stretch.

The BSF officials present at the meeting assured of decreasing the present distance of 3.3 km between two BOPs to 2.5 km, the AASU advisor said.

The AASU also demanded an increase in the number of Assam Police personnel posted for joint patrolling with the BSF from the current 300 jawans.

Dr Bhattacharyya informed that the state government had submitted a proposal for creation of two new battalions for the purpose as per a proposal of the AASU.

The AASU proposed a tripartite inspection of the riverine patrolling and the border in Karimganj sector, involving the AASU, state Chief Minister and the Home Minister, to access the situation.

Asom Revenue Minister Bhumidhar Barma, who is also the minister for Assam Accord Implementation department, had said in the Assembly that 499.83 acres of Asom's land had been encroached by Bangladesh.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, later told the Parliament that two sq km of land was under 'adverse possession' of Bangladesh.

Mr Lalli yesterday clarified that the said land had been grabbed much earlier and no encroachment had been reported recently.

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