Indo-Bangla border at Cachar shocks MLAs

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Oct 18: More than three decades after the Assam Accord to check influx from Bangladesh and despite tall claims in last 15 years by the Congress government of plugging gaps in the border, the porosity of the Indo-Bangla border never fails to shock. A seven-member team of MLAs, who visited the border stretches in Cachar district on Tuesday, got a sty jolt as unfenced portions and dilapidated border roads came into view.

Till date, 1.5 km of land boundary and 350 meters of riverine boundary over Barak, Kushiara and Surma rivers still remained unfenced in Cachar district. A member of the visiting team said that the border roads alongside the fencing are in deplorable condition.

Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal had recently instructed MLAs to visit the Indo-Bangla border areas of the State. As per the CM's instruction, the first team led by AGP legislator Phanibhusan Choudhury visited the portion of Indo-Bangla border in Cachar district.

The other six members in the team were Jairam Englang, Ganesh Limbu, Nizamuddin Chaudhury, Amarchand Jain, Kishor th and Krishnendu Paul.

Earlier on September 2, Chief Minister Sonowal had visited the border areas of Mancachar, accompanied by a delegation of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and a host of legislators.

The MLA team on Tuesday inspected 41 kms of the border including the stretches of thanpur, Peer gar, Hari gar, Mahadevpur and Tukurgram in Cachar district.

BSF officials accompanying the MLAs team informed that if the border roads along the fencing are not repaired immediately, BSF personnel guarding the border will face serious problems once the rainy season kicks in next year.

Officials of Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which maintains the border roads, cited fund crunch for not repairing the roads.

"Only Rs 5 crore is provided every year for maintence of roads along Indo-Bangla border in the Northeast. With such limited funds, it is impossible to improve the condition of every border road when this border in NE region runs for 560 km," said the CPWD official.

BSF officials also informed the MLA team that floodlights installed at the border operate on generators. The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) is yet to provide electricity connection to these border areas.

Meanwhile, some Indian families living within their country's territory but on the other side of the border fencing pleaded with the MLAs team to rehabilitate them somewhere inside the fencing. They spoke about facing problems due to Bangladeshi people stealing their livestock and belongings. Arranging marriages and getting urgent medical treatment have also become ordeals for them. As many as 147 such Indian families are living on the other side of the fencing, it was learnt

MLA Phanibhusan Choudhury said that the team will submit a detailed report to Chief Minister Sonowal after inspecting conditions at the border. "We are shocked to see such a long portion of the border in just one district still remaining unfenced. The previous government had claimed that border fencing works had been nearly completed, but today we saw a completely different picture. It is highly unfortute that even after so many years of signing of Assam Accord, such long stretches of the Indo-Bangla border still remain unfenced," Choudhury told The Sentinel.