India, Bangladesh to hold talks on curbing crime

Agartala, Jan 31 (IANS) District heads and border guards of India and Bangladesh will meet here Tuesday to curb border crimes and to increase trade between the northeastern states and Bangladesh, an official said here Saturday.

District magistrates and other officials of Tripura's six districts will meet the deputy commissioners of four Bangladesh districts Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss and finalise strategies to deal with border crime, fencing and better coordination between the district administrations on both sides.

"Besides border crimes and bordering problems, the two-day meeting would also discuss the problems relating to trading between the northeastern states and Bangladesh," said Abhishek Singh, district magistrate and collector of West Tripura district.

He said: "Such district magistrate level meetings would help both India and Bangladesh to resolve pending problems and petty issues quickly."

District magistrates of Tripura's West Tripura, Unokoti, North Tripura, Khowai, Dhalai and Sepahijala, while deputy commissioners of Bangladesh's Brahmanbaria, Moulavi Bazar, Rangamati and Habiganj would take part the meet.

India and Bangladesh governments had decided to hold district magistrate-level meetings to resolve various issues.

District magistrates and other officials of Tripura's four districts - Sipahijala, Gomti, South Tripura and Dhalai - met in Agartala Jan 9-10 with the deputy commissioners of Bangladesh's five districts of Comilla, Feni, Rangamati, Khagrachari and Chittagong.

District magistrates and other officials of Mizoram's two districts - Mamit and Lunglei - met the deputy commissioners of Bangladesh's districts of Rangamati and Bandarban (under Chittagong division), in Mamit Jan 22.

These meetings discussed border crimes, setting up of more border outposts, sharing waters of common rivers, setting up of more 'border haats' (markets), border fencing and better coordination between the district administrations of both sides.

Similar conferences would be held in the other northeastern states of Assam and Meghalaya to sort out border issues.