BSF urges B'desh counterpart to allow border fencing in Tripura

Agartala, Jan 28 In the wake of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) preventing the Indian authorities to carry out the border fencing works in some patches along southern Tripura, the Border Security Force (BSF) has now taken up the matter with the higher authorities of BGB, officials said on Thursday.

The officials said that the BGB personnel earlier this week had prevented the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Tripura government to erect the border fencing in the southern state's Sabroom along the India-Bangladesh border.

A Commandant level meeting between the BSF and BGB was held on Wednesday, that remained inconclusive.

"In view of the BGB's objections, tensions prevailed along the bordering areas after the Sub-Divisional authority asked the people to remain alert while movement along the borders," a senior police official said.

A senior official of BSF's Tripura frontier headquarters at Shalbagan, near Agartala, said that they have asked the senior BGB officials to allow the Indian authorities to undertake the border fencing works in Sabroom.

South Tripura District Magistrate Debapriya Bardhan told that the BSF was looking after the matter to sort out the problem. Except some portions, most parts of Tripura's 856 km border with Bangladesh already being fenced 150 yards from the zero lines of the international border but in some cases the barbed wire fencing was done less than the 150 yards as the markets, government installations, and habitations fell just along the frontiers.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had earlier appealed to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to complete the border fencing work along the India-Bangladesh frontiers to curb smuggling of drugs and other contraband, illegal cross border movement and crimes.'

The Indian side of the international border passes through 4,096-km India-Bangladesh borders with West Bengal (2,216 km), Assam (263 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Tripura (856 km) and Mizoram (318 km).

India started construction of the fence and flood lights along the India-Bangladesh border around 25 years ago to curb cross-border movement of terrorists, stop infiltration and check various border crimes, including smuggling and illegal trade.

( With inputs from IANS )