B’desh unrest: Malda races to secure border with expedited fencing proj
Malda: In light of the escalating unrest in Bangladesh, the Malda district administration has accelerated efforts to secure the India-Bangladesh border.
With protests at their peak in the neighbouring country, concerns have risen over potential illegal infiltration into India. The Border Security Force (BSF) has issued a high alert, prompting the local administration to take swift action to address the issue.
Malda shares a 172-kilometre-long border with Bangladesh, of which 31.5 kilometres remain unprotected by fencing.
The most vulnerable sections are located in the Habibpur and Kaliachak-3 blocks, with no barbed wire fence. To address this security concern, the district administration has initiated an expedited land acquisition process, aiming to complete it within a month.
A total of 252.10 acres of land is required to construct the fence.
District Magistrate Nitin Singhania confirmed that substantial progress has already been made in acquiring the land. “Much of the necessary land has already been purchased, and it is expected that the BSF will receive control of it by the end of December. Once the land is transferred, work will begin on installing the much-needed barbed wire fence along the open border,” said Singhania. The fencing project has been given priority due to the increasing threat of infiltration. Both the district administration and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) have jointly worked on demarcating the boundary and planning the construction. The state government has already approved the India-Bangladesh Border Fencing Project, and the Director of Land Purchase Committee has held meetings to facilitate the process.
The urgency of the situation has brought together various agencies, with the administration and BSF taking coordinated steps to secure the vulnerable sections of the border. As the unrest in Bangladesh shows no signs of abating, the completion of the fencing will play a crucial role in safeguarding the region from potential threats.
Nilotpal Kumar Pandey, DIG BSF South Bengal Frontier, said: “The work of fencing the border with Bangladesh is ongoing. BSF is always alert to stop infiltration and other illegal cross-border activities.”
