Amid sustained turmoil across the border in Bangladesh, worries of possible spillover into Meghalaya have escalated, with security agencies intensifying vigilance along vulnerable stretches of the international boundary. The spectre of infiltration, heightened by instability in Bangladesh ahead of its February elections, has triggered deep unease among border communities and their elected representatives. Against this backdrop of geopolitical flux and heightened threat perception, Mawsynram MLA Ollan Singh Suin has underscored that a few recent instances of illegal entry attempts have already been intercepted and pushed back, prompting the Border Security Force to maintain an unrelenting, round-the-clock vigil. He emphasised that the situation demands uncompromising surveillance, given the porosity of certain riverine segments that remain unfenced and pose persistent security vulnerabilities.
“There are few cases of infiltration where we push back to Bangladesh and the Border Security Force is maintaining round the clock vigil to look after our safety and security,” Suin said, adding, “Because of the trouble in Bangladesh, we fear ontowards infiltration of Bangladeshis towards Meghalaya, so the border haat is also close.”
He said, “We have two border haats in Mawsynram in my constituency, one is at Lalpani and other one is at Rinku, these two border haats are closed since the start of the turmoil in Bangladesh. The elections in Bangladesh will held in February so hopefully by the end of the February when the new government is instal we hope that the peace is established.”
Reiterating the prevailing apprehension, the legislator noted, “Yes we share border with Bangladesh and we fear the infiltration from Bangladesh because of the unrest in Bangladesh. So there are few cases of infiltration where we push back to Bangladesh and the Border Security Force is maintaining round the clock vigil to look after our safety and security.”
On the robustness of border protocols, Suin stated, “Mechanisms are proper to check infiltration in the border except the reverine borders where the fencing is not there. The porus portion is only the rivers. Rivers are not fenced.”
The continued closure of the border haats — a critical economic lifeline for roughly 15,000 residents along the Indo-Bangladesh frontier in Mawsynram — has plunged local trade into disarray. “The closure of the border haat has severely impacted the lives and livelihoods of people living along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Mawsynram, East Khasi Hills,” the UDP legislator said.
He added, “I wish another border haat could be open I am satisfied with the two border haats. When normalcy restored we expect these two border haats to be open and transaction will take place.”
The prolonged shutdown of the Ryngku and Lalpani border haats — once bustling nodes of traditional cross-border commerce — has disrupted long-standing trade linkages between communities on both sides of the boundary, severely denting the border economy as heightened security measures remain in force due to the ongoing situation in Bangladesh.
