Panel assures border residents to resolve issues

ROW OVER FENCING ERECTION

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

AGARTALA, Oct 24: The long dispute over construction of fencing along a nine kilometers stretch of intertiol border in the Somura sub-division of Sipahijala district in Tripura is going to be resolved as the Chairman of the Border Magement Supervisory Committee, AK Mengotra assured the local residents that the fencing would be erected on the zero line to avoid eviction.

“In consultation with Bangladesh fencing will be constructed on the zero line of the border in deeply populated areas,” Mengotra told the local residents while visiting the area.

The issue became very sensitive as the area is deeply populated. A total of 289 families from two villages, Durgapur and Nehal Chandra gar, will go beyond the fencing if it follows the standing rules. In addition 135 ponds, two Madrasas, eight burial fields, 29 orchards in the Muslim domited villages will go beyond the fencing.  Apart from Mangotra, the committee comprises of two other members—former BSF DG D K Pathak and a former professor of Guwahati University Abdul Mann. They also visited the unfenced border areas on Belonia and Subroom.

Tripura have an intertiol border of 856 km with Bangladesh of which 21 km is yet to be fenced due to different kinds of disputes. Apart from 9 km in Somura other unfenced borders are located in Subroom (5.94 km) and in Belonia (3.42 km). In addition a stretch of 1.73 km in the disputed Muhurichar area of Belonia is yet to be demarcated.