CCIB to agitate against Indo-Bangla border fencing

Shillong, Apr 5: The Coordination Committee on International Border(CCIB) today called for a two-day office picketing and 48-hour road blockade in Meghalaya's Khasi-Jaintia Hills districts protesting against the ongoing Indo-Bangla border fencing.

The office picketing would start from April ten and will be followed by a 48-hour road blockade from 0500 hrs on April 12 to April 14, CCIB spokesman G H Kharshanlor said.

The CCIB, a conglomeration of five organisations, decided to agitate against the Centre's decision to fence the porous Indo-Bangla border, 150 yards from the zero line.

''We are not against fencing of the Indo-Bangla border but we want the government to erect the fence from the zero line to ensure that our land outside the fence were not encroached by Bangladeshi nationals,'' Mr Kharshanlor said.

At least 40 villages have demanded fresh demarcation of the border, as they were not happy with the proposed arrangement of working on their agricultural land beyond the fence.

The border should be fenced from about 150 yards from the zero line to contain the illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis and cross-border terrorism.

Meanwhile, the state government yesterday directed the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) to keep in abeyance the ongoing fencing work till the issue is amicably resolved.

The government's order was issued after the CCIB served a 72-hour ''quit notice'' to the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) workers engaged in the fencing alleging the NBCC had violated the government's notification, which directed them to suspend work in all disputed areas between Nongjri in East Khasi Hills and Jaliakhola in Jaintia Hills.

The quit notice ended on March 28.

UNI