Fencing India-Bangladesh border a major challenge, says IG, BSF

By Syeda Shabana Parveen
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 26 : Border Security Force (BSF) Inspector General (IG) of South Bengal Frontier Anurag Garg on Tuesday said that the Indo-Bangladesh border has become a major challenge for the force due to lack of fencing.
"Bengal is a vast area. South Bengal border runs from Sundarban to Malda. Although we have tried to fence the border, but due to lack of land, we are unable to do so," Garg said while speaking exclusively to ANI.
He said that for fencing, an area of 150 metres is required to be free. "There are villages along the border. As we know 150 metres of the area is needed to be free but this does not happen here. It's difficult to understand who is Bengali and who is Bangladeshi. Even Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is concerned about drugs," Garg said.
When asked if here were talks with the state government over the issue of land for fencing, the IG said, "In some areas, fencing is not possible. We are trying to obtain land as it is under the state government. There has been no obstruction from them. It's a challenge even for the state government as people living there do not allow the land to be taken."
Regarding the sezure of fake licences of vehicles, Garg said it has become a concern when they enter the border area, so the BSF is now checking the licence of goods vehicles that move to and fro from the border area.
"We have caught many vehicles with fake licenses and reported the names to the police to register an FIR," he said.