Tripura CM wants tight vigil along India-Bangladesh border

Agartala, Jan 3 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has asked the Border Security Force (BSF) to beef up its vigil along the India-Bangladesh border in tandem with other paramilitary and state security forces.

Sarkar, accompanied by senior security and civil officials Friday, visited the India-Bangladesh border and asked the BSF to stay more vigilant while resorting to firing and maintain friendly relations with people living along the frontiers.

"BSF, CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) must jointly operate along the borders with Bangladesh to curb the terrorism and trans-border movement of militants," an official said quoting the chief minister.

Sarkar held a series of meetings with the BSF and other officials while visiting the bordering areas and suggested to work in cooperation with the bordering villagers to check the border crimes and protect the properties.

"The state government has given top priority to undertake developmental programmes in remote, bordering and inaccessible areas," the official quoted the chief minister as saying in the meetings.

"The chief minister would talk to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh soon to ask the concerned authorities to complete the works for erection of border fencing along the India-Bangladesh borders," the official said.

Four Indian northeastern states -- Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Assam -- share an 1,880-km border with Bangladesh with 856 km frontiers alone along Tripura.

The mountainous terrain, dense forests and other hindrances make the unfenced borders porous and vulnerable, letting illegal immigrants and intruders cross over without any hurdle.

India is erecting a fence and putting up floodlights along the 4,096-km India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram to check trans-border movement of militants, and keep a check on border crimes.